


Paper-thin Fate

by childofhebe



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Anxiety Attacks, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Crush, Bickering, Bullying, Canon-Typical Behavior, Cuddling & Snuggling, Discrimination, Fluff and Humor, Fun, Good Old High School Fun, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Harassment, Hope, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Junko is a basic high school bitch, Just Let Everyone Live and be Happy, Manipulation, Mind Manipulation, Minor Injuries, Multi, Name-Calling, No Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Hinata Hajime, POV Komaeda Nagito, POV Naegi Komaru, POV Naegi Makoto, Platonic Cuddling, References to Illness, Scenting, Skiing, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Dancing, Smoking, Social Anxiety, Swearing, Warnings May Change, just society, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 05:09:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 39,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29005083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/childofhebe/pseuds/childofhebe
Summary: Makoto Naegi doesn't deem himself to be a very lucky person, and yet, he gets accepted into the prestigious Hope's Peak High School as the Ultimate Lucky Student of the 78th class. His hopes for the future aren't that difficult - to get a few friends, and maybe a good job after school.And as he makes himself home among his classmates, he finds himself pretty happy at this school. What more could he expect? (Maybe for Enoshima to stop bullying him, but an omega can't have everything, right?)He certainly doesn't expect his feelings to blow out all over the place; for his incredibly charming alpha classmate AND his new best friend? Wild.
Relationships: Fukawa Touko/Naegi Komaru, Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito, Kirigiri Kyoko/Celestia Ludenberg, Komaeda Nagito/Naegi Makoto, Naegi Makoto/Togami Byakuya
Comments: 74
Kudos: 166





	1. Tongue Tied

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, welcome, buckle up, this is going to be a LONG ride.
> 
> This fanfic is my Ultimate Therapy. Get ready for tons of fanservice, fun, awkwardness, and unfair problems of the society. Fluff, maybe some angst, maybe even some smut, if we ever get to it.  
> I have never written a long-form before, so this is new even for me. I can't promise anything regarding the posting schedule, but I have few chapters ready for now, and this fanfic basically writes itself, so it should be fine for now.
> 
> Enjoy, and don't forget to give me feedback if you like it :3
> 
> NOTE: They call each other by last names, as they would in Japan. I refuse to use honorifics though; because this is not fanfic in Japanese (I study Japanese at college, so I know what I am talking about). When they become actual friends, they start calling each other by first names. Thank you for understanding.

This was the first time in a week that Makoto wasn’t late. It was almost ridiculous, how his alarm clock refused to wake him up four days in a row. And their student activity coordinator said the first week of school was the most important for building the collective. Well, great, now his new classmates probably think of him as that chaotic happy-go-lucky irresponsible guy with wrinkled clothes. On the bright side, the mad dashes into the classroom every morning (even if he was left without breakfast) did some wonders to his constitution.

But today, he woke up on time and had this warm feeling that today will be a good day. He headed to the cafeteria at normal, walking speed, grabbed a sandwich, ate it (again, at normal, savory speed), and then headed to collect his books and into the class.

“Good morning Naegi!” Sayaka Maizono, his former middle school classmate and his currently only friend, lit up as she saw him enter the half-full classroom, and waved at him. He smiled happily and waved back, heading over, not registering the few confused or annoyed stares from the other classmates. 

“Good morning Maizono! How are you today?” he asked and placed his bag on his seat, behind hers.

“I slept great, and since you also seem to have woken up on time, I think today will be a great day!” she trilled and happily chuckled, as Makoto’s cheeks reddened slightly. “Yeah, it seems my adjudicated luck finally kicked in!” he agreed with her and in the next second, he was blinded by a heavily hair-sprayed tuft of pink hair.

“Makoto! You came on time for once! How cute!” Junko Enoshima purred into his ear, as she hugged him with one hand around his shoulders, leaving him unable to back away from her.

“Ah, yes, good morning Enoshima…” he tried to at least get the hair out of his eyes, but Junko shook his shoulder, and he almost lost footing.

“I thought you’re this confused, but a low-key badass guy who ignores clocks in a badass way, not in a dumbass way Hagakure does. What happened with that?” Junko asked, and Makoto flushed again. This time it wasn’t a good type of embarrassment.

“Ah, these four days were all on accident. Sorry to disappoint,” he almost lost his footing again when she let go of him, no, almost shoved him in the direction of his desk.

“Well, that you did, Naegi,” she told him as he looked her in the face. On her high heels, she towered over him like an omen. She popped a bubblegum bubble in her mouth and grabbed a phone from her own desk. “That’s boring.”

Makoto sat down, choosing to ignore his alpha classmate. That was always the best approach for him, an omega. Sayaka seemingly had the same thought, because she leaned towards him with a wide smile again. “It seems the spare breakfast sandwich I grabbed for you during breakfast wouldn’t be needed this time, hm?” 

Makoto felt his mood rising again. This was a good day. And he wouldn’t let anyone, especially not Enoshima, ruin it. “No, sorry. But we can share it during the break if you want!”

Sayaka eagerly nodded and then went on about some funny video her bandmate sent her in the evening, and Makoto was happy to listen.

Until he came into the class.

Byakuya Togami, the alpha that left Makoto astonished by his looks the first time he’s seen him, until the alpha opened his mouth, that is. Makoto was quick to figure out Togami would forget his existence the second he wasn’t in his immediate field of vision, therefore he had no chance of even holding some sort of memorable conversation with him, let alone become his friend. But that wasn’t stopping him from pining from afar.

“Pst. Naegi,” Sayaka’s face was so close to his ear he could feel her breath on the earlobe. He startled, almost turning over his desk. “Yea?”

“Don’t stare,” she warned him with a playful smile. “Or at least close your mouth while doing so.”

Makoto flushed bright red. “I wasn’t staring!”

“Is there something that seems to be the problem?” Togami’s strong voice rang out, and Makoto flushed even darker red. “N-” he started to answer, but it quickly died out when he realized Togami wasn’t registering their commotion at all. He was turned to Oowada and Kuwata, who were arguing about something right beside his desk, therefore blocking the way.

“Why so sour right in the morning, Togami?” Oowada laughed and threw a hand across Kuwata’s shoulder. 

“I can already see that answering that question is a waste of time because that would engage me in the conversation with you, which I absolutely don’t desire to do. So just move out of the way,” Togami said in a stern voice, which earned him a laugh from the other alpha. 

“You use all of these big words as if that made you something more,” Oowada commented, earning him a quirked eyebrow from Togami.

“Which was the big word this time? Engage? Or the conversation?” Togami asked, the sheer sarcasm sending chills down Makoto’s spine. Oowada looked like he finally took some offense from the question, but before he could answer, Ishimaru stood up. 

“Togami is right, please do not block the corridor during the morning assembly, Oowada. It’s not efficient!” their beta class representative boomed, and it seemed Oowada had nothing to say to that because alpha (surprisingly, considering his already famous temper) just rolled his eyes and went to sit down at the back of the class. 

Makoto let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and relaxed his shoulders. Fights between alphas in any way were stressful.

The last of their classmates came in, and finally, the student activity coordinator came in.

“Good morning you all!” he greeted them. If Makoto correctly remembered from his speech on the first day, he was some upperclassman from the Student Council, who was in charge of their first week, until the homeroom teacher would be assigned to them. “Today is the last day of your introductory week. We toured the whole campus, you settled in your dorms, attended the introductory classes and maybe there are some friendships already forming! You know the school, but do you know the other students? No, that is the last piece of the puzzle, and you will experience that today!”

No one in the class cheered, which obviously upset the coordinator because the dramatic pause he left between the statements was blatantly obvious. 

“As you know, since last year, Hope’s Peak High School adopted the new policy, which promotes students cooperating and forming a functional and supportive society on their own more than before. People with talent are more isolated according to the nation-wide population research, and the school aims to erase those statistics! The school reformed the dorms to include students of all genders, primary and secondary, into one building and came up with the introductory week - all of the activities you’ve been doing this week belong to this policy. You’re pioneers, in a sense!”

Again, no one cheered. To Makoto’s left, Enoshima had her legs propped on a desk and typed something into her phone, the clicking of her nails against the screen being the loudest sound in the room. Behind Makoto, Yamada was scribbling something with a pencil, but Makoto didn’t dare to turn around and take a peek. The last time he did that, he was heavily traumatized by the very graphic pornographic sketch. On the other side of the room, both Fukawa and Kirigiri were reading books. Makoto could only see a portion of Togami’s face, but he was giving the coordinator a heavily unimpressed stare.

“Today, the last day of your introduction week, is reserved for the community picnic. No classes, lots of food, and lots of opportunities to talk to your upperclassmen!”

Various hands shot up, but the coordinator immediately followed up with a statement: “The attendance is obligatory,” and all of those hands lowered. “It will be held in the backyard, near the gym. It will begin in an hour, so you have plenty of time to return to your dorms and change into your free time clothes. See, even the uniforms are omitted! We are really aiming to form real bonds between students here, in a fun environment. Any questions?”

That was a bad thing to ask because Enoshima immediately jumped up. “So, we have to come, but our uniforms don’t? It sounds like a big load of bullshit. For how long do we have to be there?” 

Many heads nodded, and Makoto frowned. Do his classmates really think it is such a bother? Truth be told, he was a bit excited. More nervous than excited, but it seemed like a fair deal to him. They could at least see their upperclassmen, and free food was always a good thing.

The coordinator seemed unphased by Enoshima’s strong language. “It starts at 10 and ends as lunch starts, so around 12. There are no classes after lunch too, which leaves you the free time to hang out with your new friends.”

Enoshima grumbled something about “bullshit school” and “waste of time” and “boring” and sat down heavily. Few other questions were shot, such as if there were any penalties for not attending (Ludenberg seemed also unimpressed by the idea). The answer was detention, which was, in Makoto’s opinion, not very friendly and free-spirited, but he kept his mouth shut. The coordinator then left them to their own devices, and the whole class spent a moment in silence.

“Well, that seems like an even bigger waste of time than a conversation with Oowada, but since it is obligatory, I guess there is no other choice,” Togami said bitterly, to which Oowada reacted with a “Hey!” and Fukawa nodded eagerly. “Yes, there is no other choice, we should all go!” Togami shot her a nasty look, and she shut up immediately, melting back into her seat.

“At least we can see our upperclassmen and talk to them, find out more about the school than from these quite forced and artificial introductory events,” Ludenberg remarked, always sober and straight to the point. Ishimaru stood up.

“Yes! Even though I don’t agree with your reasoning, Ludenberg, I think we should get to know them! It will be good for our spirits!”

Half of the class groaned in anguish, others still looked unimpressed, but Makoto agreed with Ishimaru. He smiled at his classmate.

“Let’s go change, then, and prepare for the event! Use your best free time clothes!” Ishimaru commanded and began to gather his belongings from his desk. The rest of the class slowly followed his excited example.

Sayaka stood up first from the two of them, having a smile on her face. “It seems like fun, though,” she told Makoto in a hushed voice. “Maybe we can get to know more omegas around here.” Makoto nodded. The safety was in numbers, and even though it was unheard of, something terrible happening to omegas on Hope’s Peak, one could be never too safe or prepared. Old fears from middle school still lingered in all of them. 

And he already told himself, this was going to be a good day. What could go wrong on a picnic?


	2. First Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The community picnic proceeds to really turn Makoto’s world upside down.  
> A bit by bit, and then all at once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy fellas, let’s continue the show! Various characters we all know and love from SDR2 make an appearance; and the last one of them is the ultimate best boy himself :>  
> I have decided on the semi-daily posting schedule, for now. I was writing at a whooping speed of two chapters per night; so we will see and hope I don’t burn out and can keep up :DD  
> Enjoy, and don’t forget to let me know if you liked it <3

It seemed a LOT could go wrong on a picnic. But, first things first.

As Makoto and Sayaka approached the grassy area behind the gym, now covered in many blankets and with various tables full of food, many people were already there. The closest familiar person Makoto could see was Oowada, leaning on the gym wall, talking with Hagakure and both of them smoking. Makoto wasn’t sure if that was appropriate during the school-issued event, but he knew better than to reprimand them. 

“Hey! Do we want to reserve some blankets for our classmates, or just… mingle with everyone?” Makoto asked the two after they approached them with Sayaka. Oowada groaned and breathed out a cloud of smoke. Hagakure smiled. “I have no idea, man. Even if we did that, I don’t know if some of us would join our blanket. We seem like a not very compatible group. Weirdos, introverts, assholes, all kinds of people. You catch my drift.”

“Yeah, and you’re in a weirdo group, stoner,” Oowada grumbled, but Hagakure only laughed. “Maybe you’re right but better than an asshole!” 

“Fuck you.”

Makoto looked at Sayaka, who quietly coughed, apparently uncomfortable in the cigarette cloud the two created. “Okay, we will go and look around for a bit,” Makoto told the other two, took Sayaka’s hand and pulled her away. She smiled gratefully at him. “Thanks, Makoto. My pop-star lungs have to stay as clean as possible.” Then, she chuckled. “I wonder where in those categories do we fit.”

Makoto lifted an eyebrow. “You’re really thinking about that? Well… probably introverts? I mean, we definitely aren’t assholes, and I don’t know if we are weird in any way, so… That’s the only one left?”

“Hmm, I don’t think we are introverts. We like socializing, don’t we? Maybe we are our own category.”

“How would we name ourselves, then?” Makoto asked. They already reached the first food table, and there were some other people around it as well.

“HOW ABOUT THE MADDEST TIGERS?!” the very loud and excited voice boomed near them, and they both winced and whipped their heads in the direction of a voice.

It was coming from a very colorfully dressed girl, talking with Kuwata. They both looked super excited as if they were discussing a manga sale.

“That sounds so EPIC! How did you come up with that so fast?” Kuwata asked with stars in his eyes. 

“I don’t know, Ibuki just comes up with things! The first one is always the best, and the next one is even better!” the girl, probably named Ibuki, exclaimed proudly, and slapped Kuwata’s shoulder. “Now, all we need is a singer, and our epic band is complete!” 

Kuwata seemed to think about it for a second, and then he noticed Sayaka and Makoto, just standing frozen near the table. “Maizono! You’re right on time! Mioda, this is Sayaka Maizono, my classmate. She is the Ultimate Pop-star!” Mioda’s eyes twinkled, and soon, Sayaka was being tugged by the elbow to their little circle. “Nice to meet you, Sayaka! Here is Ibuki Mioda, the Ultimate Musician! We had an amazing idea with Leon, we could form a super epic band at Hope’s Peak, that would knock socks off of anyone! What do you say?”

Sayaka was very confused by the influx of information and turned her head to mouth a “sorry!” in Makoto’s way. He just nodded with a smile. He was happy that Sayaka got to talk to someone other than him today. That was the point of the picnic, wasn’t it?

That being said, he could also find someone to talk to, but everybody around him already seemed to be engaged in conversation. He sighed and grabbed a sandwich, to keep himself at least occupied. He wasn’t going to let this worsen his mood. Today will be a good day, he could feel it in his bones.

“Naegi?” a small voice called his name, and he turned, finding it was Fujisaki. “Oh, hey, how are you doing?” Makoto asked another fellow omega, quickly swallowing a piece of sandwich in his mouth. Fujisaki was wearing a skirt that reached just under his knees, but that didn’t surprise Makoto. It was not unusual for male omegas to wear skirts too, and until a few years back, they had to wear them with their school uniforms, nevermind the primary gender. Lots of things were ridiculous and illegal, back then. Such as omegas hiding their dynamics with scent blockers, or even pursuing some career paths. Times were advancing, and it was much better now. There was still a lot to be done, but Hope’s Peak had a very advanced policy, even in the darker times.

Makoto still liked pants more. Pants, and a hoodie, that was his favorite outfit.

“Oh, I’m doing fine! I haven’t talked to anyone new, but I thought we could try together!” Fujisaki suggested, and Makoto readily agreed. 

They walked around a bit, nodding greetings at their own classmates, who were either talking with other people or among themselves. The loudest group in the whole area was consisting of Asahina, Oogami, a feral-looking girl with brown hair, and a big burly boy with a chain around his neck. They were playfully sparring and eating, both at the same time. Makoto and Fujisaki figured they didn’t want to join them that much, so they avoided the immediate area (they didn’t want to be hit on an accident, after all).

They ate some food and Makoto asked Fujisaki about his newest programming project. Fujisaki always came out of his shell when he talked about his craft.

“You stupid ugly idiot! Look at what you did! My obi is ruined now!” a loud voice near them tore them out of the conversation, and they both turned their heads. On the nearest blanket, three girls were sitting, or rather, one of them was rolling in the grass near it. She must’ve fallen and dropped the food she was carrying - multiple sandwiches and sweets were scattered all around her and the blanket. The girl sitting on a blanket, dressed in a beautiful floral kimono was wiping at her obi with a napkin, trying to get the cream stain out of it. The girl on the ground sniffled.

“I am so sorry, Saionji! I will help you!” She grabbed some more napkins, but her legs were tangled in a long bandage she was wearing on them, and she dove her nose into the ground again.

Makoto was moving before he knew it and grabbed the poor girl’s hand. 

“Are you alright?” Makoto asked as he pulled her up on her knees, noticing her nurse apron (nurse apron?) was covered in dirt and grass.

“Oh look, a prince on the white horse arrived! You should have left her roll around some more, the pig she is,” Saionji sneered, and tapped the third girl’s hand. “Mahiru, help me, this cream won’t come off!”

Mahiru looked away from the camera, which she was pointing at the crowd away from them. She took one look at the stain and then returned her face to the camera. “That would need a dry-cleaning. Just leave it, it can wait until your next laundry day.” 

Saionji returned her stormy gaze towards the nurse. “So you will be paying for this laundry dose too! That’s what you get for being so useless.”

Something surged within Makoto, especially as he heard the silent sniffles of the girl in his arms. “That’s not very nice.”

Saionji’s eyes widened. “And who the fuck are you supposed to be?”

“Who I am isn’t important. What is, is the way you’re bullying her. Over such a small stain. Don’t you see she’s hurt?” The nurse was looking up at him with the widest eyes he’s ever seen, but Makoto focused on the scrapes on her knees.

Saionji waved her hand. “She’ll be fine, she falls over all the time. Useless, clumsy idiot.” 

“That’s not the point here, why are you treating her that way?”

Saionji started to laugh as if Makoto just delivered the funniest joke ever. Fujisaki pulled on Makoto's sleeve. “Let’s go, Naegi.” He said, somewhat sadly, and Makoto sighed. He couldn’t let himself get angry. It was a good day. He pulled the nurse up on her feet and started to drag her away from the two. She went, tripping only slightly, still staring at him as if he just gave her a piece of the night sky.

A few blankets away, they all sat down. “Are you alright?” Makoto asked the nurse again, and she blinked as if she was surprised that he was talking to her.

“Y-yes! Of course! After what you have done for me, how could I not be okay? Thank you! How can I repay you?” she asked him with a wide smile. Makoto’s cheeks flushed.

“Why would you want to repay me? I don’t need anything for it, that was what anyone would have done!”

Nurse gasped. “You really...think that? Are you an… angel?” She asked him, and that made Makoto’s cheeks even redder. “What? No, of course not, I’m just… Makoto. Makoto Naegi. What’s your name?”

Now the nurse got red. “You want my name… Ah, it’s Mikan Tsumiki! The Ultimate Nurse of class 77! But of course, you can call me whatever you like, I can’t tell you…”

“Of course I will call you by your name, Tsumiki! And you’re from class 77? We’re from the 78th class! That means you’re an upperclassman!” 

Tsumiki actually squealed after he said that. “Please do not think you have to be nice to me just because of that, Naegi! I am fine with anything! I am so sorry I made you think that!”

Makoto actually couldn’t believe his own ears. “No, it’s fine, don’t apologize!”

“I’m Chihiro Fujisaki, nice to meet you,” Fujisaki thought that was a way to break the weird mood, and it seemed to work. Tsumiki smiled and repeated the polite phrase, apologized for the trouble, and then for the problems she brought them. After two minutes and Makoto’s speech about how she definitely doesn’t need to apologize for that, they finally managed the normal conversation without apologies.

“They are my classmates, Hiyoko Saionji and Mahiru Koizumi. I like them very much, but Saionji is very mean sometimes, even though I deserve it every time. I bring them a lot of trouble, but they keep me around anyway, and I am very thankful for that,” Tsumiki said, and Makoto was horrified a bit. (Fujisaki too, judging by his face). 

“Why don’t you report it?” Makoto asked. “Oh, why would I do that to my friends?” Tsumiki seemed so appalled at the idea, that Makoto cringed.  _ Wow, she has some serious issues. _

They talked some more, finding out that both her and Saionji were omegas, ( _ so we have to look out for each other, right? _ ), and that the school was rather nice ( _ I have a lot of work at the infirmary, even people with talent get hurt while cultivating it, so it’s nice! _ ) and that she worked at school infirmary during her talent cultivating classes and even during her free time ( _ it is a nice practice, and people need me there! Sometimes, I go and help out at the hospital too! _ ), and then they talked about Fujisaki’s programming again.

“And what is your talent, Naegi? If you want to tell me, of course,” Tsumiki asked, finally with a happy smile on her face.

“I don’t really have one. I am an Ultimate Lucky Student,” Makoto admitted with a slight flush of his cheeks.  _ He was doing that a lot, today. _

“Oh! In my class, we also have one. And in 76th class, there is one too. I don’t remember when this tradition started, but great for you, isn’t it?”

That got Makoto’s attention. “Really? I don’t know why, but I always thought that Lucky Students don’t last long in this school.”

“No, no, I think they are important for school. I don’t know exactly why, sorry that I can’t help much, and I don’t know anything about the Lucky Student from the 76th class, but our Komaeda is very talented!”

That didn’t lift Makoto’s hopes much, considering he wasn’t “very talented”, but he wasn’t about to let Tsumiki know that.

“Tsumiki, your knee is still bleeding,” Fujisaki warned her before Makoto could reply, and she squealed in surprise. “Oh, really? I’m so sorry!”

Makoto got up, not feeling up to another speech about apologies. “I will go and get you some water and napkins, okay? Don’t move.” 

“Thank you so much, Naegi, you’re really an angel!” Tsumiki yelled after him as he jogged away to the table.

This was still a good day. They made a friend with Fujisaki, another omega on top of that. They could fix this bleeding issue pretty quickly. 

Then, it happened. The string of unexpected and uncontrollable circumstances, which completely turned his day, and his world, upside down.

The group of upperclassmen was playing with the ball not too far from Makoto. One of them threw the ball too strongly, and it came bouncing straight into Fukawa, who was talking with Ikusaba. Fukawa yelled in surprise and pain, and Ikusaba, alarmed, jumped into the fighter stance, toppling over the boy with pink hair, who was passing near. For some reason, he was holding a wrench that came flying out of his hand, and landed on the grass next to the table. The girl immersed in her Nintendo tripped over it, but the boy in a long dark coat caught her before she could fall. “What is this metallic snake doing here? Kazuichi, is this your doing?” he exclaimed in a strong voice, lifting the wrench and showing it off in a grand gesture.

His elbow hit the boy behind him, who happened to be Makoto.

Makoto, who was leaning over the table, reaching for the bottle of water, and having absolutely no balance. Makoto lost the ground beneath his feet, his body collided with another one, and they both landed on the table, flipping it over, and having all of the food fall on them.

Makoto quickly realized that he was basically laying on the other, both of them covered in chocolate and cream and salad pieces. He quickly shot up on his arms and knees, looking at the other. “I’m so sorry! I have the worst luck! Are you okay?”

The beautiful green-grey eyes were looking up at him. The boy with the fluffiest white hair Makoto has ever seen just chuckled.

“I know that feeling.”

\---

People were lifting them up pretty quickly, but Makoto was too preoccupied to notice the foreign hands dusting away the grass and salad pieces off him.

“Go wash up and change,” said the girl with Nintendo, the disaster clearly being enough to tear her away from it. “The picnic is almost over anyway.” Someone was laughing their ass off in the background, and Makoto remembered it was that Saionji girl. “The stupid ball! I always knew the sports were wily and could never bring anything good to people!” Fukawa shrieked somewhere near. Makoto registered Togami’s face in the crowd, and he would be lying if he said that Togami's: “Tch, typical,” didn’t hurt Makoto a little bit. The determined hand on his elbow started to drag him away, and Makoto managed to find Fujisaki and Tsumiki, who were looking at him with worry, but for some reason, not approaching. Probably because of Tsumiki’s bleeding knee.  _ Oh shit, I never brought them the water. _ Well, he hoped they could manage without him because the other boy was dragging him away in the direction of dorms pretty quickly. He had long legs, Makoto noticed, and Makoto had to almost jog to keep up the pace. As soon as they were far enough, the other boy stopped and let go of him, chuckling.

“Are you okay? I apologize for touching you like that, but you seemed pretty out of it.”

That brought Makoto fully back into the present. “Y-yes, of course. Why are you sorry for that? It’s me that should be sorry, I dragged you along into that mess. Quite literally.”

“Oh, not at all. I am used to disasters, it’s fine. The important thing is that you aren’t hurt.”

Makoto blinked.  _ Why were so many people apologizing to him today? _

“I’m not, just a bit shocked, I guess. Are you?”

“I'm also not hurt, thank you for the worry though. It’s unnecessary, but I appreciate it.”

This was a weird dance of words. Makoto needed to break it somehow. 

“I’m Makoto Naegi. The circumstances were a bit unlucky, but it’s nice to meet you,” he smiled, happy to finally loosen up his face. The other boy chuckled again.  _ He has a nice laugh,  _ Makoto thought.

“Unlucky indeed. Nagito Komaeda.”

The name was familiar to Makoto. “Oh, you’re the other Lucky Student! Tsumiki mentioned you earlier!”

Komaeda’s eyes widened a bit. “Tsumiki mentioned me? How thoughtful of her… Wait, the  _ other _ Lucky Student?”

Makoto nodded. “Yeah, same.”

They both started to softly laugh at that, the sheer irony of the situation wildly amusing.


	3. Twisted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto and Nagito talk.
> 
> It goes just as well as you would expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have two 4 page essays due Sunday, so instead of working on them, I had a mental breakdown, decorated my room, watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, made my new wand (those two last ones are completely unrelated, I am a pagan witch, not a crazy Potterhead XD), and now I am updating this fanfic. And how are your lives going?
> 
> Anyway, here I go. Feel free to spank me in the comments if you see any mistakes or anyone being OOC. Writing Nagito is fucking hard man. And I kinsider him.

Makoto could honestly say that he liked Nagito Komaeda.

They hung out in the evening of the picnic day - after they parted to change their clothes. Makoto didn’t have many activities they could do in mind - so they just met in the dorm’s study room and read some of Makoto’s mangas together. They talked - mostly Nagito asking him questions about himself. Makoto told him about the officially worst day of his life, which happened a few days before he got the acceptance letter into Hope’s Peak. Nagito laughed at the story, and Makoto was happy to have made him laugh.  _ Just the basic making-a-new-friend things. _

“Your story was very amusing, Naegi. Thank you for telling me, I haven’t laughed like this in forever,” Nagito said, as he wiped stray tears out of his eyes. 

“Really? How come?” Makoto asked.  _ Should he be concerned for the other? _

“Ah, it’s just that, not many of my classmates talk to me. They acknowledge me, of course, which is very nice of them, and I wouldn’t dream of asking for anything more anyway, but there aren’t many opportunities to laugh like this for me,” Komaeda admitted and lifted the manga book to his face, maybe in embarrassment? Makoto frowned a bit, touching Komaeda’s hand. 

“They are wrong if they think you are anything less. Especially when their behavior made you think that about yourself,” Makoto said with an encouraging smile, and Komaeda peeked at him from above the book. 

“How are you doing it? Being so full of hope all the time? Ever since we've met, you...” Komaeda asked him, his voice strangely sheepish. The question shocked Makoto a little bit.

“Well, I don’t know about being full of hope. It’s not like I have grand dreams or anything. But I can’t just stand by and watch, while someone is being bullied, or even if they bully themselves. No one deserves to suffer, you know?”

_ Especially omegas.  _ Makoto suspected that Komaeda was also an omega. Now that they were sitting indoors, and so close to each other, he could smell the sweet whiffs of lavender and caramel off him. Given the combination was too unusual to come from the soap, Makoto reached the conclusion that he did.

“And if someone is willing to suffer, to bring other people success?”

Makoto was really concerned by now. This conversation had the weird subtext - as if Komaeda was really depending on him giving him the answer. The right answer, at that. Why him? And why here and now, during this one particular moment? Makoto refused to get nervous because the answer to this question came easily to him.

“That isn’t a success. Leaving bodies in your wake, knowing they willingly suffered for your sake, is not the right way. It can’t be easy every time, and some choices are difficult, but you should never let someone walk all over you just like that.”

Komaeda blinked. It seemed the answer surprised him. As to why; Makoto couldn’t tell. There was clearly so much more to the other.

“But acknowledging this role as a talentless individual is my purpose, isn’t it?” Nagito said quietly, straightening his back as if he was bracing for something.

“Talentless? Is that what this is about? That’s bullcrap, Komaeda. Talent isn’t that important. What people do with it is. And if they use it to harm other people, they are a bad person, no matter the talent or not,” Makoto said, determination surging within him. “Also, you’re not talentless, remember? Tsumiki said you are very talented. Me, on the other hand… Not so much.”

“No, that’s wrong!” Komaeda set down the manga with a surprising force. “Naegi is very talented! The hope you have in your eyes… Is the brightest I’ve ever seen!”

Makoto smiled, a bit confused. “That’s not a talent, but I appreciate it…”

“It is! You see…” Komaeda seemed to think for a few seconds, with fingers set on his chin, and then took Makoto’s hand into his. “Hope is the greatest talent. When you can become someone else's hope so effortlessly, that's beautiful. You got into this school due to luck, but even if Lady Luck acknowledges you, you are meant to do great things. I really believe in that. Oh, I apologize for touching you like that,” he got flustered towards the end, and let go of Makoto’s hand as if he touched a hot pot. Makoto mulled his words in his mind a few times and then gave Komaeda a big smile, snatching his hand back.

“And Lady Luck acknowledged you too, didn’t she? So don’t you dare say you’re talentless. I know we don’t know each other for long, nor that good, but I truly believe in you. I can see you’re a good person, very smart and kind and… All of the problems you have, I want to help you through them. If you let me.”

The reaction wasn’t what Makoto expected. Komaeda gave him a somewhat forlorn smile. “She acknowledged me only because she likes to play with me. Rather cruelly. That’s, unfortunately, not the same, Naegi.”

“What do you...mean?” Makoto asked softly. Nagito proceeded, with a serious, but also rather serene smile.

The Lucky Student told Makoto about horrible things that happened to him. About his dog, about his parents, and the horrible accident, that only he survived. About the abduction. About the lottery ticket. About how the little things he did to make himself happy set off the catastrophe somewhere else. Makoto couldn’t believe it, frankly. But he realized one thing, connecting all of those events, and his heart was breaking for the other, that he couldn’t see it.

“Those were all… Out of your control, do you realize that?” he asked carefully, gripping Komaeda’s cold hand like a lifeline.

The other sighed. “My luck is under my control. If I don’t ever become lucky, I never cause misfortune in turn. And yet, I selfishly…”

“Wanting to be happy isn’t selfish. It’s truly not. I know it’s hard to hear, and I can’t believe no one has ever told you this, and I am so, so sorry for that, but I am telling you now. Okay?”

Maybe it was just Makoto’s imagination, but Komaeda’s eyes seemed wet. When he talked, his voice was muffled a little bit. 

“I can’t do this… I can’t do this to you. I’m sorry,” he made a move to stand up, but Makoto only gripped his hand tighter, not letting him.

“No, wait, what do you mean? We can absolutely do this! I mean, we don’t have to continue talking about this, but…”

“I can’t become your friend. If I do, something will happen, and I can’t do that to you,” the heartbreak in Komaeda’s voice was also breaking Makoto’s heart. Komaeda’s face scrunched up into a sneer. “I don’t know why I started talking to you in the first place. A talentless individual such as myself, why would I-” Komaeda yelped as Makoto tugged on his hand, the latter’s expression annoyed.

“I know what you are trying to do and stop it. I won’t let you go, no matter what insults you throw at me. I am not afraid, and I don’t need you protecting me like this. Do you remember what I said earlier? Success isn’t a success when someone is willingly suffering for you to achieve it. This is the same. So, please,” maybe it was a dirty move, but Makoto pulled out his best puppy eyes, the ones that always worked on his parents, sister, anyone really.

The pressure pulling his hand slowly loosened completely, leaving Komaeda limp in his hold. There were actual tears now, slowly leaking out of Komaeda’s eyes. Makoto got the feeling that the other didn’t have an opportunity to cry in a long time, considering how he wasn’t reacting, nor wiping them away.

“You’re really something, Naegi,” he mumbled and cast his gaze down. Makoto smiled happily at him and took the hand he was holding into both of his hands. “Makoto is fine. Okay?”

Komaeda nodded, giving Makoto another sheepish smile. “Yeah, too. Nagito.”

Makoto laughed. “I remember your name, don’t worry.”

“Listen, I am sorry, but really…”

“We don’t have to talk about it now. It’s not like the world will end tomorrow, right?” Makoto countered him gently.

“Yes, fine, but I am still worried…”

“I have plenty of luck myself, don’t I? You said it yourself. And considering the circumstances, I think we were meant to meet each other. Maybe I can cancel out your bad luck streak. We don’t know that. But I have a lot of hope for you,” Makoto felt a little bit cheesy, saying it like that, but he figured he would get to Kom- no, Nagito, the quickest, if he spoke in his language.

Nagito nodded, finally starting to wipe at his tears. Makoto fished out a napkin for him. Nagito started to laugh heartily (at the gesture?), and Makoto smiled. 

“I never expected to become anyone’s friend ever again. I do talk with Tsumiki quite often, because she tends to my unlucky injuries almost every day, but I can’t say we are exactly friends. What I’m trying to say is… Thank you,” Nagito said after he blew his nose, and Makoto waved his hand. “Please, don’t mention it. It’s normal. You shouldn’t have to thank me for this. And you can bet I will beat up all of your mean classmates for the way they treated you.” Makoto puffed his chest, and Nagito burst into laughter again.

“That would be very amusing to watch. The petite omega such as yourself, wanting to fight anyone.”

“Oh, who said I would use my fists? You can beat someone up with words too! Also, you know I am an omega?”

“Yeah, you were laying on me earlier, remember? It was hard not to notice. Don’t worry, I'm the same though,” Nagito admitted, and Makoto nodded with a chuckle, remembering the way he just toppled Nagito over like a house of cards.  _ But, my assumption was correct. I would be a good detective. Eh, probably not.  _

They continued to talk and read manga and stayed in the study room long into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hajime appears soon, I promise


	4. Thumbs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto faces a crisis and a very harrowing situation, and for once has to rely only on his luck to save him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, fuck school and just write fanfiction all night. (Alternatively, read SNK manga. Because that's what I've been doing from 3 AM to 10 AM today.) No, I am not fine. But I'm still standing (the character song of my highest kin, Joseph Joestar), and that counts for something.  
> Out of all the four main characters of this fic, I have chosen to write this fanfic in a POV of the only character I don't kin/kinsider. Well played. But a professional Makoto kinnie gave me a stamp of approval here, so don't worry. I am very careful with my fanfics.

During the weekend, Makoto hung out with Nagito. They studied together, even though Makoto couldn’t help Nagito much, the older Lucky Student did help Makoto with some assignments. Then, they went out to eat. There was a new crepe stand in the park near the Hope’s Peak area, and they went to try it out.

They met Nagito’s classmate Chiaki Nanami in the park, just playing her Nintendo on the bench.

“Nanami is our class representative,” Nagito said, his voice muffled by the crepes he was munching at. Makoto nodded eagerly. 

“Really? That’s amazing, Nanami! Isn’t it much work?”

Nanami shook her hand, still looking at her game. “No, not really. I love organizing the game events.”

Makoto turned to Nagito, a bit confused. “Game events?” he mouthed, and Nagito lit up. “It’s a thing we do. Once a week, we set up the TV in the class and everyone plays games out of Nanami’s great collection.”

“Oh, that’s cool!” Makoto tried to imagine his class organizing such an event. He couldn’t really imagine it. Who would have even suggested it? Asahina, probably? She would probably want to do some sport as the main activity. And the majority of their classmates weren't very P.E. oriented. 

“And your homeroom teacher supports that?” Makoto asked instead, the first question that emerged in his mind to keep the conversation going.

“Oh, yes, she was very intrigued by the idea. She had a great share in reforming the school to promote cooperation and class collectives forming.”

Oh, so it was their homeroom teacher behind all of those “bullshit activities” (as Enoshima would put it) they had to do during the first week. In Makoto’s opinion, it was actually amazing.

“Who is your homeroom teacher? Do you have one already?” Nagito asked.

“We did receive the paper announcements in dorms after the picnic about them, actually. Their name is Nie Meirou, I think.”

Nagito lit up. “Oh, the P.E. teacher! She is nice. I don’t really know her, since I am excused from participating in all P.E.-oriented classes, but from what I know…”

“Wait, you are excused?” Makoto asked, and Nagito nodded, not hurrying much to explain. “Wh-” Makoto figured he had to ask the follow-up question, but Nanami’s game beeped loudly, and she set down the Nintendo so quickly the movement startled Makoto.

“You’re also the Lucky Student?” she asked, and Makoto nodded. “Yes, from the 78th class.”

“Nice,” Nanami replied and shifted her gaze to Komaeda. “I’m glad that you made a friend, Komaeda.”

Nagito chuckled, his pale cheeks reddening a tiny bit. “Oh, Nanami, it’s so nice of you to be worrying about me so much! But really, it was impossible for us not to befriend each other, especially after such a fateful meeting!”

“Mhm,” Nanami didn’t have much to say to that, and Makoto only smiled, and bit into his crepe.

\---

Makoto and Nagito made plans to meet up during the lunch break on Monday too. Makoto wanted to introduce Nagito to Sayaka, who was busy during the weekend with the band planning with Kuwata and Mioda. She was really excited by the idea - and Makoto was happy for her. Who really surprised him, was Kuwata. Makoto didn’t expect him to love music that much, with him being a big baseball star and all of that. But it was a bit presumptuous of Makoto, just to assume people with talent had no other hobbies than their talents, wasn’t it?

As the lunch break started, Makoto told Sayaka to meet him in the cafeteria and went to pick up Nagito from the school lobby.

He wasn’t expecting to find him in the state he did.

Nagito was leaning into the wall, breathing heavily, gripping his bag like a lifeline. His face was even paler than usual, and his legs shook with each little movement he made. Makoto jumped to him, touching his arm gently and supporting his taller friend.

“Hey, Nagito? What’s wrong?” Makoto really tried not to sound alarmed, but he didn’t succeed much. Nagito drew in a sharp breath as Makoto touched him, but as he heard his voice, he relaxed.

“It’s… fine. I just got dizzy a little bit,” Nagito was slurring his words a little bit, another red flag waving wildly in Makoto’s face.

“And it just started?” Makoto asked gently, throwing Nagito’s arm around his shoulder to support more of his weight. “During the last lesson, my head started to hurt, it just got a little bit out of the hand as I headed here. It’s fine, we can proceed…”

“Are you kidding? You look horrible, you need to go to the infirmary!” Makoto pressed and snatched Nagito’s bag out of his hand to carry it himself. 

“No, really, it’s fine, I can’t just…”

“I won’t let you just drop unconscious somewhere, Nagito, that’s crazy dangerous!” Makoto kept thinking, fast. Where was the infirmary? They got the tour of the whole campus of the Main Course buildings during the first week, so he should remember…

A hand fisted his jacket, and Makoto startled, finding Nagito’s face mere inches from his. “I really don’t want to go to the infirmary, Makoto. I already went to Tsumiki today when I tripped over my bed and needed some ice. I can’t worry her so much,” Nagito pressed in turn, and Makoto found himself clueless.  _ What should we do, then? Should I call an ambulance? _

“Reserve Course has an infirmary too. I don’t know where it is, but we can surely find a way around there! Is that better?” Makoto asked, already set on not taking a no for an answer. Nagito probably felt that too, because he nodded and laid his head on Makoto’s shoulder in defeat.  _ Great!  _ Makoto thought.  _ Now I just have to find the infirmary in the building I’ve never been in before. _

Luckily, the Reserve Course building was just across the street from the Main Course. With Makoto’s support, Nagito seemed to walk easier, so it didn’t take much time to get to the area gate. The guards didn’t pay them any mind as they crossed the gate, and continued towards the biggest building. 

It was… newer, and not that pretty as the Main Course building, Makoto noted. It just looked like the basic business building, with many glass windows and sharp steel edges. He didn’t know much about it, only that it was an ordinary high school with Hope’s Peak name on it. The tuition was astronomically high, there weren’t any talent cultivating classes, and it served as one of the funding sources for Hope’s Peak to expand even further, and open more classes in the Main Course. At least, that’s what the internet forums said. They didn’t get any official info on the Reserve Course during the introductory week.

They got weird stares from all of the students gathered in the front yard for lunch. Someone even shouted at them, but Makoto was ignoring them with his full determination. Unless someone came to them and offered them help, he was hell-bent on getting Nagito into the infirmary on his own. Omega had to be used to the shouts. It had always been that way. To make it even more striking, their Main Course uniforms made them stick out like a sore thumb.

They finally reached the building. In a glass and abrupt lobby, there weren't very many students, and the majority of them were just passing around. Makoto dragged Nagito to the receptionist’s window and asked her where the infirmary is. She didn’t even look at them as she replied: “Go left, around the stairs, and turn right at the end of the corridor.”

Makoto thanked her. That was easy. If there were no stairs involved, it was fine. He wasn’t sure Nagito could handle the stairs. His breaths were still coming in and out heavily, but his legs weren’t shaking as much, and some color returned to his face.

The nurse seemed more annoyed to have them knocking on her doors during the lunch break, than helpful, but Makoto gave her Nagito and explained his symptoms in a hurry. She told Nagito to go lie down on a bed and examined Makoto with a stern stare from the tip of his ahoge to his toes. Ants started crawling all around Makoto’s skin until she was done staring at him.

“You wait outside,” she slammed the door in his face, and he let out a breath. He was partially worried about Nagito staying alone with her, but he was relieved to be out of her line of sight. Now, he only had to wait, either for Nagito or for some news about him.

Oh! He should text Sayaka, that they weren’t coming today. He would have to make it up to her, who knows how long has she been waiting for them in the cafeteria by now. He pulled out his phone and sent a text, accompanied by a sad emoji.

She immediately texted back, saying it was okay, and a heart emoji. Makoto let out another relieved sigh. Sayaka was the best.

“Hey, look! A lost puppy!” a gruff voice yelled, and Makoto’s hair on his nape immediately stood up.  _ Oh no. Not today. Not here. _

While he was focused on his phone, he didn’t notice a group of Reserve Course students, most likely alphas, judging by their almost obscene musky smell. They were all looking straight at him, smiling stupidly, aiming their steps to surround him. 

_ I hate this. They always think they are so funny, bullying the lone omega somewhere in the corner. I guess even at Hope’s Peak there are assholes. Oowada said it himself. But I hoped it wasn’t true. _

“Please, leave. I don’t have time for this,” Makoto said in a steady voice.  _ Not that this ever worked, but I hope they would be more civilized. _

He was wrong.

An arm came down right beside his head, and Makoto did everything in his might not to flinch. “You hear that fellas?” the handsy alpha laughed. “The puppy thinks he is so much better than us, he can’t take some time for us…”

“But if you beg better, we might just take you up on it,” another alpha added, and Makoto had to repress a slightly annoyed sigh. That would only encourage them more.

At this point, anything he would do would encourage them.

“If you don’t want anything ordinary from me, just leave me alone,” Makoto said, his steady voice still somehow intact. 

“Are you deaf?” the handsy alpha growled and made a move to  _ grab at his hair. _ Makoto evaded just by quickly moving his head to the side, which made the alpha pause. The alpha started to chuckle, and others quickly followed his example.

“It seems we have a fighter here, fellas,” he said smoothly and grabbed Makoto’s arm instead. That, Makoto couldn’t evade. “Matsuda said it, we want you to beg. That is pretty normal, or, how you said it, ordinary. Using big words, you and your  _ talented _ chums. I am sick of you. And now, you just come waltzing in here, as if you owned the fucking place. We can send you back to your fancy building in a matchbox, do you realize that?”

As the alpha was touching him directly, Makoto had a very hard time suppressing his emotions, and especially his panicking inner omega. The aggressive alpha smells all around him weren’t helping, his inner omega felt caged, and was urging him to just give in, start crying or run away. But he couldn’t do any of those things. It was such a stupid idea to come here alone. He should have brought Sayaka with him. No, they would be just harassing her as well, and he definitely didn’t want that to happen. He should have asked some alpha from his class to come with. Oowada? Or Oogami. She would have been happy to help. Or he could have asked Nagito about getting help from someone from his class. Or he should have persuaded Nagito, that Tsumiki won’t mind taking care of him twice in one day. It was such a stupid, stupid idea to come here alone. Now, everything was coming back to him, every single slur and shove into the lockers from middle school, only because he was so small and didn’t like confrontation, and  _ oh god _ ...

“Leave me alone,” he said weakly, earning him another round of laughter. His skin was crawling, his breaths coming out shorter and shorter, and he could feel his eyes slowly getting wet. No, he absolutely couldn’t cry. He just had to endure it, until the nurse came out, hopefully, her and not Nagito, who was still sick… That was honestly the worst scenario he could imagine right now.

“Are you fucking serious, Nomura? What are you, five?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does this count as a cliffhanger? I have elected to count it. So, enjoy the first cliffhanger in this fanfic. <3


	5. Freaking Me Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto gets saved by a mysterious alpha, and immediately makes the new alpha his friend.
> 
> Nagito doesn't approve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELCOME BACK   
> This chapter was such a kinnie train for me, and the next one is even tougher. Can you tell why? Yeah. There is a LOT more to this story than just a stupid ABO overindulgence. Or, at least, I hope you could tell by now :D  
> We have reached 500 hits, and it makes me so happy, that people keep clicking on this fic. Thank you so much for the support. We are nowhere near the end! :D

All of the alpha’s heads whipped around, to look at the newcomer. Makoto did too.

He had absolutely no way of knowing who the boy was, but alphas apparently knew him. He was dressed in the plain Reserve Course uniform, just like the rest of the alphas, but his hazel-green eyes had a completely different spark. The right kind of spark. Makoto’s body relaxed a bit, as the boy looked him in the eyes too as if his inner omega knew that it was alright now. 

“Hinata? So you can talk after all?” the handsy alpha (Nomura?) roared in laughter. “Nakano, pay up!” One of the alphas grumbled in defeat and handed Nomura a bill from his pocket. “What, you want to join the fun?”

“If you think of this as fun, you’re really the nasty piece of shit everyone thinks you are,” the newcomer, Hinata, replied with a sneer. The Nomura frowned, and Makoto had to bite his tongue to suppress a whine when he gripped his arm even tighter and then shoved him into the wall. Makoto slid onto his butt with a loud thud.

“You want to fight, Hinata?” the Nomura growled, and Makoto took in a sharp breath. He wanted to tell Hinata to just leave him, it definitely wasn’t worth a fistfight. He didn’t want him to get hurt over defending him, especially over so many alphas. That wasn’t looking good at all.

But Hinata didn’t even flinch at the challenge. 

“Who, you? I don’t think the principal would like that. They might overlook your stupid bullying, but they don’t like fights in hallways that much. Or you want to spend another half year in detention? I really don’t,” Hinata shot at him, and Nomura seemed to pause at that. Not for long, soon he just erupted into loud laughter.

“Are you fucking kidding? Look around you, dumbass. You’re alone, and no one comes here this time of the day. They would never even find your fucking body!”

“Hey, isn’t he friends with that Kuzuryuu girl?” one of the alphas said quietly, but that really made everyone in the group pause.

Hinata smiled a cold smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I don’t know about whose body would not ever be found.”

Nomura sneered in absolute disgust, upon having his fun ruined. He set off, shoving Hinata into the wall and out of the way. “Just you wait, Hinata,” he growled, and walked away. All of his goons followed not long after, leaving the dead-end corridor empty, aside from Makoto, who was still frozen on the ground, and Hinata, who seemed satisfied enough at the development, because he chuckled, and then turned to Makoto, genuine concern etched into his face.

“Are you whole?” he asked him, in a much gentler tone, than the one he was using with alphas. Makoto blinked, finally out of the damned frozen state, and nodded sharply. Hinata offered him a hand, and Makoto took it, letting the other pull him to his feet. Now that they were so close, Makoto could clearly smell the heavy, yet still gentle mint smell of an alpha. Probably the leftover pheromones from the confrontation.

“I… I’m sorry,” Makoto said quietly before he could stop himself. Hinata blinked in confusion. “What are you apologizing for? Their mothers should apologize for bringing them to this world, not you.”

“Eh… That’s not what I meant, more like… Thank you!” Makoto yelped, embarrassed. Hinata shyly smiled at him, and one of his hands shot up to his short hair. 

“Don’t mention it. I couldn’t just ignore it. It’s pretty normal around here, this kind of bullshit, but it would be a much bigger thing if things got out of way with you, so…”

“Me?” Makoto asked, a little bit confused. Hinata gave him a meaningful glance with raised eyebrows. “The Main Course student.”

“Ah, that’s what you mean. Well, I never expected the Reserve Course to be…”

Hinata laughed, a little bit bitterly. “To be a place where neanderthal rich alphas without a pinch of good upbringing and actual moral compass just do what they want? I wasn’t either, trust me. And still, here I am,” Hinata finished up a little bitterly and slouched his shoulders. Makoto felt a pinch of pity for him, but he knew it wouldn’t be the best idea to bring it up.

“Anyway, what are you doing here? Hell, I know you wouldn’t have come here until you absolutely had to, so where’s the fire?” Hinata asked, thrusting his hands into his trouser pockets. 

Makoto pointed to the infirmary doors. “My friend got sick, so I took him here. Our infirmary was… Well, we couldn’t find anyone there,” he lied because explaining the whole issue would be a little bit difficult. Hinata nodded. “I can wait with you if you want. In case those assholes decide to come back,” he offered, and Makoto’s face lit up with a smile. “Wouldn’t that trouble you?” 

“Not at all, it’s still a lunch break, and if it took that much time, the class isn’t that much interesting anyway.”

Makoto remembered that they were having talent cultivation after lunch. Since he didn’t have much to cultivate, he usually spent those with Sayaka and listening to her singing, or catching up on his homework. But he had no idea what class Nagito was having next. He had no way of letting anyone from class 77 know what was with Nagito. There was probably his phone in his bag, but Makoto didn’t want to go over Nagito’s bag. But, considering Nagito’s relationship with his class, no one would probably be too concerned if he just didn’t come. That thought made Makoto sad.

“What’s with a long face, eh… I don’t believe I heard your name anywhere in that fuss?” Hinata asked, a smile on his lips. Makoto’s cheeks flushed. 

“It’s Makoto Naegi,” Makoto introduced himself quickly, cursing internally for not thinking of it sooner. “And it’s nothing. I just hope my friend is okay in there. The nurse seemed a bit...scary.”

Of course, his bad luck had the best possible timing again. Just as he was saying the word, the doors flew open, and Makoto jumped in surprise.  _ Oh, please, tell me she didn’t hear that... _

“The paper,” the nurse had the same annoyed expression, and she was handing Nagito a piece of paper, probably the health report for the teacher. “And drink more water, or your face would be scraping the pavement somewhere someday.” She scolded him and slammed the door behind Nagito. Makoto let out a huge sigh, as he examined his friend carefully. Nagito seemed much better, the color back in his face, a serene smile back on his lips. 

“How are you?” Makoto asked quickly. Nagito waved the paper at him and laughed. “As good as new, don’t worry. That lady was way scarier than Tsumiki, but she gave me an IV and the headache went away soon after. I can return back to class, even though I have no idea how much time passed. Did you wait for long?” 

“No, I think it couldn’t be for more than half an hour!” Makoto said, taking both bags from the floor. Nagito maybe seemed better, but Makoto didn’t want him to carry his bag just yet.

“Oh, you missed most of the lunch break because of me!” Nagito lamented. 

“I think we still have time to return and grab something to eat if we hurry. It’s okay,” Makoto argued, turning around and accidentally bumping into Hinata, who was standing directly behind him. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I forgot myself. Nagito, this is Hinata. I met him, as he was passing by, and we talked for a while,” he gave Hinata a meaningful glance, so he wouldn’t rat out the unfortunate encounter Makoto had with the alphas to his friend. Nagito really didn’t need that concern right now. But... when he looked closer, Hinata didn’t seem to be listening to him or his signals at all. He was looking at Nagito, his eyes just a tad wider than Makoto remembered, and his cheeks also a little bit redder. 

Nagito’s face remained neutral, sans for the serene smile. An honest one, as far as Makoto could tell. “Nagito Komaeda,” he bowed his head, messy white hair bobbing on his hair. Hinata blinked as if that hair movement just woke him up from a dream.

“Hajime Hinata,” alpha also bowed.

Makoto couldn’t tell why it was, but something about that interaction made him very happy.

\---

They got way fewer stares on the way back. It was mainly thanks to Hinata, who accompanied them. Heads were turning, but their alpha companion was probably well known on the campus because as soon as they saw him, they looked away. No shouts were coming, and Makoto could feel his shoulders losing the tension, especially with the Main Course building in his line of sight.

Nagito chatted on, completely oblivious to the people around the front yard. His high spirits inspired Makoto to also stay positive. They made it out, Nagito was alright, and they even made a new friend! 

“She said something about the low atmospheric pressure these last few days, and how she had a few more omegas in the infirmary this week. Apparently, we are more sensitive to these changes!” Makoto couldn’t say he ever experienced these troubles, except for maybe random knee and back pains.  _ Huh, maybe it was true. _

“So you’re saying the IV did the trick?” Makoto asked, to confirm. Nagito nodded, his hair bouncing. Makoto loved seeing him with that kind of energy. Even during these few days they knew each other, Makoto realized that Nagito’s energy varied from sad and overthinking, to calm and serene, to wild and insensitive. But this excited energy? Makoto loved it. It felt intoxicating. It made him not think about the awful encounter with alphas pretty quickly.

Hinata was silent, and he didn’t seem to mind how slowly they walked. He strode behind them, his expression neutral. But Makoto didn’t forget how he looked at Nagito at that one moment. The giddy, childish joy he felt was lingering. Makoto wanted to see that expression again. But he had to be alone with Nagito first. The other seemed either oblivious or indifferent to it.

“People seem to know you, around here,” Nagito turned his head on the alpha. Hinata jerked as if the fact that the Main Course students didn’t forget he was behind them surprised him.

“Well, I certainly don’t know any of them personally. But everyone knows Natsumi Kuzuryuu. She is my classmate, and she likes me for some reason, so we hang out, and everyone seems to think I am her right-hand man or something, even though we have never even discussed anything… Of that sorts,” Hinata said, moving his head to the side to point. Makoto followed the direction with his eyes and found the group of Reserve Course students under the tree. The blonde girl was standing up, talking about something, and waving her hands in wide circles. That was probably Kuzuryuu, but Makoto was still lost in the reasons why people would be afraid of her. She seemed quite nice, not the bad bitch high school queen ( _ like Enoshima _ ) that people needed to avoid or obey.

“What do you like to do in your free time, Hinata? If you don’t mind me asking, of course,” Makoto asked, just to keep the conversation going. 

“Um… Just the usual, I guess… I study a lot, work out, read, play video games… Stuff like that,” Hinata answered quietly as if he was ashamed of it. Makoto didn’t understand. He wasn’t any different!

“I’m not any good at video games,” Makoto admitted, his finger going up to pick at his lip, “but there is an Ultimate Gamer in Komaeda’s class! She is very cool!”

“I know Nanami, actually. We used to play together a lot. I wasn’t any good either until she taught me some tricks. I never won against her, but we had a lot of fun anyway,” Hinata laughed, his face lighting up a little bit. Makoto noticed Nagito peeking from behind his wild hair at Hinata, and he grinned. But Nagito’s next words made his smile freeze.

“So… you don’t play together anymore?” Nagito asked, his voice shockingly cold. It probably shocked Hinata too, because his eyes widened a bit until he also let his smile fall apart and answered neutrally: “No, or at least, not that often. We both got busy with school, that’s all.”

“Is that so…” Nagito let that sentence linger, and Makoto frowned.  _ What is your deal? _

They reached the Main Course gate. Hinata stopped dead in his tracks, gently touching Makoto’s shoulder to stop him. Nagito did as well, lifting his eyebrows at Hinata.

“What’s wrong?” Makoto asked. Hinata seemed nervous.

“Well, I can’t go any further,” he explained, shooting a look to the security booth. The man there was glaring daggers at Hinata in a way that made Makoto’s skin crawl.

“Really? Why? That’s a bit…” Makoto said lightly, trying to make sense out of it.

“Bullshit? Yes. But, I would rather not get into problems again, so we have to part now. But, you can avoid trouble on your own turf, right?” the nervousness radiating off Hinata was lessened by the playful smile he put on, and Makoto returned the smile. 

“Of course! And if you don’t mind giving us your number, we can hang out again!”

Hinata flushed a bit, but nodded and scrambled to pull a phone out of his pocket. Makoto turned to Nagito and pointed his head to Hinata, widening his eyes a bit and mouthing “you too!” to put an emphasis on the importance of it. Nagito frowned and shook his head. Makoto nodded multiple times, keeping his eyes wide. They kept eye contact until the older Lucky Student sighed and pulled out his phone as well.

They all exchanged numbers, and with the promise to text soon, Hinata left, shooting one last worried glance to the security booth.  _ I wonder what problems he had with them. Hopefully nothing serious… _

He turned to Nagito, who stared at his phone with an indifferent expression.

“Why were you so mean? He was very nice! He helped me… Eh, he kept me company while I was waiting!” Makoto stopped himself in time before revealing his nasty experience. Nagito sighed.

“Your bar is pretty low, Makoto. It’s the Reserve Course students that are the worst of the worst. The talentless leeches, that desecrate the Hope’s Peak good name, only because they have money. It is horrible. And you heard him, he even told you that he was leeching off Nanami, and Kuzuryuu’s little sister! They are all the same,” the cold in Nagito’s voice shocked Makoto into silence.

_ Poor Hinata, and he seemed to like you very much, you airhead.  _ He lamented internally. 

“He just said they are friends, I really don’t think he had any ulteri…”

“But now that he is gone, I can tell you the real reason I almost fainted.”

Now that interested Makoto.

“Yes? What is it?”

“I didn’t tell you before, because I didn’t want to upset you even more, but now I feel like it’s unfair that I kept it from you. I apologize for that,” Nagito admitted, and took in a deep breath. “I am in remission. It’s not complete yet, and I have few other problems to worry about, but the dizziness and headaches sometimes return. It tended to be worse, I guess that’s a good sign.”

“In remission… For what?” Makoto asked carefully.

“Lymphoma. Pretty late stage, at that. It took me by storm before I entered Hope’s Peak, and it seemed to disappear just as quickly, at the beginning of this school year. Isn’t that crazy?”

Nagito seemed to want to laugh it off, but Makoto wasn’t in the mood for that. He just smiled and took his friend’s hand.

“I am proud of you. Thank you for telling me.”

Nagito stopped cackling crazily, and the honest smile returned on his face.

“Now, shall we grab something quick to eat before the break ends?” Makoto pulled Nagito’s hand towards the building, and off they went.

“I’m not that hungry, but yes, we probably should.”

“The nurse told you to eat more!”

“No, she told me to drink more water. I can do that anytime.”

“Oh, stop it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You, frequent commenters, I love you more than life itself.   
> (And you, infrequent commenters, thank you so much for any support you give me. Duh. Would love to know what you think about the story, as always <3)


	6. I Think It's Arrogance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An innocent trip to the mall takes a surprising turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeey amazing people  
> Sorry for the delayed update. I had a friend over and we watched Horseland xD (a cartoon from our youth). There is a lot of inspiration for me in my childhood cartoons, especially for this fanfic. It IS a happy high school au, after all, xD and I am very excited to put my ideas into this, and for you to read them!  
> Today, we have a shift in POV, in the middle of the chapter. I was super excited to write it, it will be a regular thing now :3 He is one of my highest kins, and it is super easy to write him.
> 
> EDIT: I made a spotify playlist with all the songs that chapters are named after. I add them one in advance, which means now, with six chapters up, the playlist has 7 songs :3 It can tell you something about the chapter in advance, so I recommend you check it out :3   
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ZykMsoQx8N4zseXq4LLDG?si=jA6rlvv4TtyBahLgxCtUPw

“Does anyone have something else to do in mind?” Makoto asked happily, after the group sat down at the bench, colorful slushies in hands.

“Yes, of course! I still need to find a new pair of shoes for that dress we bought!” Sayaka pointed out, nudging the multiple paper bags under the bench with her foot. 

“I honestly had no idea you needed to buy your costumes for the shows yourself. I thought you had stylists for that or something,” Fujisaki admitted and slurped from his slushie, clearly in a need of sugar after all of those shops Sayaka dragged them through.

“Oh, silly, this is not for the show! Just for the press appearance after the show!” Sayaka exclaimed, and all eyes within the group except Sayaka’s widened.

“Wow, your life is surely a busy one, Maizono…” Makoto stammered, positively bewildered. Sayaka happily nodded, as if she didn’t catch that slightly sarcastic subtext.

“If I may, I was hoping we could take a break for a while. I have to admit I have a little bit of trouble keeping up with you Ultimates. Feel free to leave me behind, of course, I would never dream of obscuring your steps,” Nagito said serenely. 

Sayaka and Fujisaki exchanged a glance. They have been doing that for quite some time, but Makoto was instead getting worried about Nagito for quite some time - after the first half-hour, his cheeks got red at first, then very pale, as Sayaka was possessed by a shopping fever and dragged all of them along.

“I could use a break too,” he said quickly, to back up Nagito. The older Lucky Student shot him a grateful smile. “That’s what we got slushies for, after all! We can’t really enter the shop with these.”

Sayaka pouted a little bit, but then happily complied, digging into her slushie.

The break was convenient for Makoto for a different reason as well. He checked the time on his phone. It was almost the exact same time he planned for them to be there, at that exact spot. He didn’t know if his luck was to thank, but he certainly felt lucky for the moment being almost perfect.

A few moments later, he spotted them - the two were striding down the alley, heading in their direction, both dressed in casual clothes and talking in hushed voices. He lifted a hand and waved.

“Hinata! Nanami! Good afternoon!” The heightened volume of his voice earned him some looks from shoppers all around, but he didn’t care. Hinata noticed him and smiled, quickly strolling over, Nanami slowly following (she was immersed in her Nintendo again).

“Hey there. I hope we’re not too late, we got distracted by a difficult level and forgot to get off the bus at the closest stop, so we had to walk the difference,” Hinata seemed embarrassed a bit, but it earned a heartfelt chuckle from both Sayaka and Fujisaki, and even Makoto couldn’t keep one in.

“Not at all, you were right on time! Let me introduce you all,” few short introductions later, Hinata jumped over to the stall to get himself and Nanami slushies. Fujisaki and Sayaka were very interested in Nanami’s game, and she began to explain it in a hushed voice, her fingers constantly flying all over the controls.

Nagito laid his hand on Makoto’s shoulder, and when he turned to face the older omega, he was startled by how close his face was. With a rather strange, wide-eyed expression, at that.

“You invited them…? Not that I have a problem with Nanami, but…”

“But what? I meant what I said, about us hanging out together. You really need to give him a chance, Nagito, he is very nice. I know that Reserve Course isn’t much to your liking, and honestly, I get it but trust me on this one,” he tapped Nagito’s hand on his shoulder, so Nagito would stop gripping it so much. Nagito let go of him and sighed.

“So, what were you guys up to?” Hinata got back with two slushies, putting one in Nanami’s hand, right on time with her finishing a level. 

“Shopping! I need to find shoes for my new dress, and then we can do whatever!” Sayaka was still under her shopping fever. Hajime frowned, confused.

“For your show, or something?” He asked. Fujisaki gasped.

“See? I thought the same thing! Wait until you see the dress itself, Hinata, it looks exactly like a stage costume!”

“No, it doesn’t! It’s fashion!”

Makoto tuned out the debate, leaned his head on Nagito’s shoulder, closed his eyes, and slurped his slushie. They did deserve some rest, after all.

\---

Naegi’s classmates were… Interesting. Hajime had little different expectations out of Ultimates (or, as the majority of Reserve Course called them, Stuck-up Bastards), but then he realized it was probably unfair of him. Naegi was very nice from the very start, and even if Hajime had some doubts about the other’s intentions, when he received the text from Naegi inviting him to hang out at the mall the next weekend, the doubts went away. 

So, it was a bit unfair of him to assume Naegi’s friends were any different than him. He texted Nanami to come with him, just in case (she was excited to finally hang out just as he was, or, at least, he knew she was because she never really...seemed excited about anything), and after both she and Makoto agreed, he was confident that the day would be good.

That didn’t change the fact that the second he spotted Komaeda, his insides instantly formed one disgustingly tight knot.

He knew the other was a bit indifferent to him when they met, and he could see why (there weren’t many remarkable things about Hajime Hinata, except for the fact that he was...well, civil, and that bar was way too low), but he would be lying if he said that he didn’t think about the boy a lot more often than he probably should. 

They chilled on a bench for a while with their slushies, the main topics of the conversation being Nanami’s video game, and Maizono and Fujisaki asking Hajime way too many small talk questions.

“And are the classes hard in the Reserve Course?” Maizono asked, the genuine concern on her face. Hajime knew few of his classmates (male and female alike) would flip if they knew he was just hanging out like this with The Sayaka Maizono. Some of them were obsessed with her music, and for the majority of breaks, they played it on their phone speakers right there in the classroom. Hajime himself wasn’t very interested, he liked a bit different genre of music, but she seemed very nice.

“No, not really. It’s probably the usual. I don’t think the classes were supposed to be harder, that’s not what we are for,” he answered, and she nodded, continuing: “Ah, I see! They didn’t give us any info on the Reserve Course during the first week, that’s why I am asking. Sorry if we seem too pushy!” 

“No, not at all! I am happy to answer your questions,” Hajime said immediately, putting his hand into his hair. Maizono smiled at him, and others did too (not Nanami, she was immersed in her game again, and Komaeda had a strange, indifferent expression, hard to read; Hajime’s insides twisted together even tighter).

“And which grade are you in?” Fujisaki asked. He seemed very timid at first, but when he relaxed a little bit and smiled, Hajime knew it was okay. He didn’t know much about his work as an Ultimate Programmer, and he was aching to ask, but he probably wouldn’t understand even if Fujisaki told him. That was more of Nanami’s turf.

“Second. It was a bit tough, at first, because we were the first freshmen on the Reserve Course, and they were still adjusting details as they took us in, but we managed,” Hajime answered, thinking of his first year. The things… To say they were tough, that was way too light. But he didn’t want to scare omegas, that was a dick move.

“You’re the same grade as Komaeda, then!” Fujisaki exclaimed, and Hajime’s eyes immediately flew to the white-haired omega. He visibly flinched and gripped Naegi’s forearm so tight his knuckles turned white. He wasn’t looking at Hajime, but on the floor.

“I...see,” Hajime sighed, getting anything but the good feeling.  _ Damn it… What did I do wrong? _

“Okay!” Maizono finished her slushie and stood up to toss the cup into the trash can. “We really should go, if we want to get some good shoes. We can chat more after that!” She was dead-on determined, and Hajime didn’t have any choice but to quickly finish his slushie and join others.

They checked out multiple stores after. Hajime got the feeling that he was in the role of a bodyguard of the group because as they went, the group of omegas was getting many stares. As soon as they spotted him, they turned their heads away. Not that omegas noticed. Hajime knew they were probably used to it, and that thought made him sick to his stomach. It always did. The society was awful, even though it was trying to change, a bit by bit.

_ Naegi only invited you for this. So they wouldn’t get harassed _ . The intrusive thought immersed her ugly head, and Hajime bit his tongue.  _ Shut up. Shut the fuck up. _

He was silent until they reached a quite full shop. 

“I can stay here,” Nanami said, way too focused on the game she was playing and pointed at the bench in front of the store. “Yeah, me too! I really should text my dad, and I would be just in the way there!” Fujisaki added, joining Nanami on the bench.

“Okay,” Maizono huffed. “But you three are coming! I need options!” Somehow, she grabbed all three of them, Naegi, Komaeda, and Hajime, and dragged them in.

It ended up with Naegi commenting on shoes, and Hajime and Komaeda bringing various sizes if Maizono wanted to try them out. Hajime didn’t feel like he had much to add to Naegi’s awkward commentary, he didn’t understand fashion at all, so he just stayed silent.

_ You have the opportunity to talk to him now!  _ He thought, sneaking glances at Komaeda as they stood near the shop storage room for the fourth time, waiting for the shop employee to bring the boxes.  _ But… What should I say…? Should I be just cool? Or maybe try to flirt? No, you’re awful at that. Maybe just asking him something about himself? And wouldn’t that be too awkward? Fuck! _

“Don’t you think I don’t see what you are doing. You may have fooled them all, but I am not that easy,” Komaeda said suddenly. Hajime felt as if Komaeda just poured a bucket of ice-cold water directly on his head.

“Eh… pardon?” 

The other boy looked at him, the grey eyes cold as the arctic field.  _ He has white eyelashes.  _ Hajime noticed, which was probably a bit inappropriate to think in that situation, and his cheeks reddened.

“I know what you are like. Acting all innocent and nice, trying to get into Their good books, just so you could ride on their train of fame. It’s disgusting, let me tell you,” Komaeda  _ hissed,  _ and Hajime could honestly say that he had never felt so confused in his life.  _ And he got confused quite a lot. _

“Seriously. Excuse me? I have no idea what you are talking about.” 

“I just wanted you to know. And I will make sure others know too,” Komaeda retorted, and Hajime felt a stab near his heart, and just as Komaeda turned to leave, Hajime made a move to grab at his sleeve.

“No, wait!” Komaeda looked back at him quite angrily, and Hajime took in a breath.

“I… know now, that you don’t like me for some reason, and that is perfectly fine, I can live with that, but I seriously have no idea what you were talking about. I came because Naegi asked me to. I didn’t know who would be here, and I am being polite, which, well… I am always trying to! And I like all of you, I really don’t have in mind… anything like what you said. So, please, tell me. What did I do, that it made you think that way?” 

This wasn’t looking good, and honestly, Hajime was already mourning the little crush he had going on. He didn’t think… Komaeda would lash out at him, and who would have expected? He looked so carefree and chill when he got out of the infirmary. Hajime felt butterflies in his stomach going crazy over that smile. He hasn't felt anything like that in a LONG time. Maybe, if he could count the moment his parents told him he could apply to Hope’s Peak, that they could afford it, at least for one year. He wanted to fix this, but… Maybe Komaeda was like that. The… Stuck-Up Bastard. It made Hajime ache in the ways he never thought he could ache.

Komaeda stayed silent for a while, just staring at him. It was unnerving Hajime a little bit, the fact that the omega was taller than him, and he was literally  _ looking down _ at him. 

“So it was just a coincidence, that you found Makoto in that deserted alley? You were  _ just passing by? _ I don’t think so. You must have followed us from the front yard, scheming something. You are shady and I don’t believe you a word,” Hajime twitched again, another stab in his heart. Those were… really mean things to say to anyone. But at the same time… Hajime now knew this was a misunderstanding, and he couldn’t leave it at that.

“Yes. I admit it wasn’t a coincidence. I noticed you going in, as I was having lunch with Kuzuryuu and others, but then I noticed Nomura and his chums going in, way too happy about something. I suspected that they were going to try and find you, and harass you. And they did, I found them bullying Naegi in front of the infirmary. I stopped them. But not because I wanted to look good in front of him, but because it was a decent thing to do! So, please. You have every right to be suspicious of me, but please don’t just assume things like that, when you don’t know the full story,” Hajime ended his argument with a huff. He got a little bit fired up there. Mostly because thinking about those assholes always made his blood boil.

Now, Komaeda was looking at him in a purely puzzled way. “You… Aren’t making that up?” he asked, his voice somehow soft. Hajime shook his head, trying to keep a serious expression and not to melt into a pile of Hajime goo, from what that voice did to his insides.

“Makoto… Didn’t tell me that,” Komaeda finished, and his shoulders slouched. Hajime could feel his face softening.

“It’s...okay. When you put it like that, with the information you had, it’s no wonder you thought ill of me,” he tried to reassure the other, letting go of his sleeve, and putting a hand on his shoulder instead.

Komaeda flinched and swatted Hajime’s hand away. “But don’t think that you’re off the hook just yet. I will be watching you closely, Reserve student. I will ask Makoto if that story of yours is true,” Komaeda hissed (a bit softer this time though), and turned to leave.

“Feel free, I guess…” Hajime said quietly, his hand shooting up into his hair, as he watched the other leave.  _ Well, that was shit.  _ He thought, and let out a disappointed sigh. Everything always went wrong somehow, didn’t it? That was what he got for having hope.

To top it off, in the next few seconds he got an armful of shoeboxes to carry to Maizono all by himself.

\---

“Thank you so much for coming, Hinata, Nanami! It was lovely to hang out. Let’s do something like this again soon!” Maizono said happily, as they were parting ways. 

They chose the correct shoes, then they even went to a glass jewelry store to choose some accessories for Maizono’s outfit (there, Nanami discovered nice metallic cat ear headbands in various colors, and they all got one, Naegi even buying one for Hajime, and wrestling him into wearing it), and then went out to eat into fast food to replenish energy (it got a lot of whines from Maizono about her figure, but Naegi kept reassuring her, and ultimately, she caved in). 

Komaeda stayed silent throughout it all, just watching Hajime when he probably thought Hajime was occupied with something else, but Hajime could feel it. He still couldn’t tell how he felt  _ about  _ it though. 

“No, it was my pleasure! Naegi has my number, you can call me anytime!” Hajime answered with a smile. Talking with Maizono was easy, as was with Naegi and Fujisaki. They were really a nice bunch.

“We can hang out on the campus too if you won’t have plans for a lunch break!” Fujisaki offered, and Hajime immediately felt cold sweat forming on his eyebrows and back.

“Ah, I am not really allowed on your campus, sorry to disappoint,” Hajime said, immediately regretting it, because both Maizono and Fujisaki made concerned faces.

“Really?”

“Why?”

“It’s a...long story. Let’s say they guard the authenticity of the Main Course well,” Hajime tried to deflect, and Naegi (bless him) came to his rescue. 

“He would need permission from the Headmaster, from what I've heard. But we can look into that once we are back at school!”

They were all heading back to Hope’s Peak because they all lived in dorms. Hajime would offer to accompany them, but he had the feeling Maizono would fistfight the security guard, especially after this conversation, so he chose to just go home instead.

“Really, thanks for coming,” Naegi smiled at him, and then a bit shocked Hajime when the small omega hugged him around his torso. Hajime went rigid, but then awkwardly wrapped his hands around him.

A flash of light somewhere in the crowd made him frown. He tried to look for the source of the light, but the people around them seemed to just mind their business. Except… Two girls. They were walking away from them at an alarming speed. One with flashy clothes and two huge pink ponytails, and one dressed plainly, with black short hair.

Hajime had no idea who they were, and before he could even think of something to alert others, they were gone.

_ Ah, it was probably just my imagination.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Nagito, you dumbass  
> He needs time xD  
> Let me know if you enjoyed the chapter :3


	7. Back in School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Junko pulls off her newest attempt of making Makoto’s life hell.
> 
> Hajime meets someone interesting.
> 
> Makoto gains a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey lovely people!  
> I am very sorry for the one-day hiatus, but I wasn't feeling very good these last couple of days, and I was unable to write. But for your patience, I deliver you the longest chapter yet!  
> Also, it is one big fanservice for the games. You will see what I mean. You can try to find them all in the comments, I hid a LOT of easter eggs in this one XD  
> You can expect the next chapter in two days, as usual (hopefully, I am very close to a mental breakdown, lmao)

Makoto definitely didn’t expect his day to begin with the very loud sound of Fukawa’s laughter. 

“Ahahahaha, what? You thought that I am a loser like you? Newsflash, Bike Psycho! A little boy like you could never meet my standards, of course!” 

Fukawa stood in the alley, her legs planted in a wide, proud stance, and faced Oowada, who looked just as shocked as the rest of the class. Then, the biker frowned.

“I just told you to move out of the way, you crazy bitch. What is this about?”

“I will spell it out for your bird brain, of course. I only take orders from  _ cute _ boys. C-U-T-E. And you’re about as cute as a dead dinosaur. Next time try  _ asking  _ instead of  _ telling.  _ Is that a way to treat a  _ lady _ ?”

Fukawa had the crazy look in her eyes, her pale eyes darkening into more of a brown shade. Her spine proudly straightened, she unapologetically pointed her finger in between Oowada’s eyes, who looked both very angry and agitated at the same time. Her long hair, normally neatly braided away, was hanging wildly all around her. Makoto was so captivated by the bizarre scene, he almost didn’t notice Ikusaba tapping on his shoulder to let her and three more classmates through the door already.

“You’re no lady, you insane slut! What the fuck happened to you today?” Oowada asked, growing impatient. The crowd that was getting bigger and bigger probably wasn’t helping the cause. 

“I woke up from a long slumber, of course!”

That was just as vague as it was weird, and Makoto could imagine he wasn’t the only one with various questions in mind, but then someone decided to intervene.

“Just let him pass, Fukawa. It’s too early in the morning for bullshit like this. Behave,” Togami said, his stern voice ringing loudly in the classroom, and shockingly, it worked like a whip.

“NOW that is a cute boy I was talking about!” Fukawa yelled and jumped out of the Oowada’s way, right next to Togami.

“And I said that you behave. I will not repeat it for the third time,” Togami snarled, and to Makoto’s (everyone’s, really) Fukawa hugged herself, and her face was darkened by a blush. 

“Would you look at that! Massive score!” she licked her lips, jumped back to her seat, sat down, and batted her eyelashes at Togami.

“What now, Master?”

“Shut the fuck up and let others mind their business,” Togami replied and turned his back to her, while she giggled like a child.

Makoto almost jumped out of his skin when Sayaka leaned close to him and whispered: “What  _ was _ that?”

Makoto could only shake his head because he certainly didn’t understand that exchange, whether the one between Oowada and Fukawa or the one between Togami and Fukawa. 

He strode to sit down at his desk and would be lying if the fuss didn’t make his mood gloomy. There was something… Hidden in those words. Fukawa did insult all of them almost on a daily basis (except for Togami, who she always seemed to unhealthily idolize), but rarely provoked the arguments in this particular way. She seemed to have this idea that nobody liked her, and nobody ever wasn't capable of liking her, and she enforced her distrust in others so fiercely that, yes, nobody liked her much. Makoto of course was sure that he  _ would  _ if he ever got the chance to properly talk to her. She never gave him a window open.

But this particular thing… Calling Togami a “master”... That was odd. An unknown feeling closed off Makoto’s throat. Togami didn’t even react to it. As if it was normal. And if Makoto wasn’t mistaken, Fukawa was  _ flirting  _ with Togami. Even now, if he glanced her way, he could see her staring at Togami’s back with a somewhat creepy smile. She was often staring at him, of course, the whole class noticed this, but she was always peeking from above a book. 

_ Maybe… has there been some progress? _

Makoto shuddered. He felt sick to his stomach thinking about that. No, of course, he would have been happy for Fukawa if it was true. She certainly seemed very happy about it. Togami… Well, did he ever look happy about anything? Maybe Fukawa was into it.

_ You are into it, you hypocrite. _

“I can basically hear the gears in your head turning,” Sayaka turned around in her seat to face him, and yet again, tore him out of the thought.

“Ah! Well… Can’t deny that, can I.”

“I know what is bothering you.”

“You do??”

“Of course, I am a psychic,” she frowned, reaching out and gently taking Makoto’s hand. “I thought you were over that. You told me you don’t want to pursue it.”

She knew. Of course, she did. Was she that good, or was Makoto just that transparent? Maybe both. And, on top of that, she was right.

“I… Thought so too. They say that we regret things we don’t do way more than the things we do, but then again, the embarrassment… I don’t know if I want to do that to him. Me. Us,” he told her in a hushed voice, sighing afterward.

Sayaka wasn’t very pleased with this statement. “Well, I don’t think it is too late! Naegi, you are amazing, and if he doesn’t see it, he was never worth your attention in the first place!” 

She did her best, but Makoto wasn’t feeling any better. He was amazingly basic, at best. Hardly something someone like  _ Togami  _ would go for. He would just embarrass himself, Togami (if he did it somewhere public, which he probably wouldn’t), and besides, he was good with the ignorance from the other. Ignorance was safe. It meant Togami didn’t think  _ anything  _ of him. If he tried to confess his stupid crush, there would be a reputation formed of him in Togami’s eyes and not a good reputation at that. Heck, they never even talked properly before! Makoto would look so stupid. And frankly, he was tired of that one. 

“What are you guys talking about? Makoto’s little crush?” the voice purred above them, just as the ominous shadow of two enormous pigtails fell upon Makoto’s desk. His eyes widened and his head whipped up, meeting Enoshima’s pleased grin.

“Wh-” of course, he didn’t even get to finish the word, and her hand snaked into his hair, ruffling them as if was just some stupid kid on the playground.

“It’s so cute! And don’t worry, it’s normal, for two nobodies to be pulled to each other. There is no embarrassment there whatsoever! In fact, I am going to be a good classmate and relieve you of it.”

Makoto had no idea how she managed that, but she hopped onto her desk like a gazelle, heavy boots on heels and all. She pulled her phone out of her bra. “Attention, please! I know you are still recovering from whatever Fukawa just pulled, but I have an important announcement!”

Makoto has never felt a dread like this crawling his throat. He was deadly pale in seconds, his legs and hands both shaking as he stood up and moved over to Enoshima to beg her to stop. He didn’t make it, he fell over and only gripped the edge of her desk, his knuckles as just as white as his traitorous face.

_ This was the worst possible way he could have ever imagined this going. Holy shit, is this even real? Not even his occasional nightmares were capable of this. _

“Our little Naegi here has the cutest crush on the Reserve Course student! I even have evidence, look! Aren’t they cute?”

_ Wait… What now? _

\---

Hajime’s day was just as boring as usual. The school was boring, most of his classmates were boring, either always boasting or fighting over stupid things. He focused on the school work, just to get it done and be done with it for the day, so he could go home.

The only one who was lately capable of surprising him was Natsumi Kuzuryuu.

“Hinata! Hinata come here!” she called him during the last break, and even grabbed his hand to pull him out of the class. He followed, as always, overwhelmed by her excitement, and how fast she pulled him out of the boredom. 

Their targets, it seemed, were a short boy and the tall girl in glasses, both dressed in the Main Course uniforms, standing in the corridor outside of their class. They both looked at Hajime a bit too unimpressed, but who has ever looked at him differently, in this damned school, right?

He immediately noticed how similar the boy looked to Natsumi. He figured out his identity pretty quickly, even without the incoming introduction.

“Big bro, this is Hinata, the friend I’ve been telling you about! Hinata, this is my brother, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu!”

“Chm. Nice to meet you, I suppose,” Kuzuryuu stuck out his right hand, and Hajime quickly completed the handshake, surprised by how strong the other’s hold was. The girl made no movement, nor any effort to introduce herself, but Hajime noticed the sword sleeve hanging from her back. Maybe it was better to leave her alone.

“Yea, too,” Hajime forced out. Natsumi was often talking about her big brother. He knew she has always wanted to enter the Main Course to be by his side, as the Ultimate Little Sister. To this day, the committee refused to acknowledge that as a talent. Frankly, Hajime thought that was fair because it really wasn’t, but he still felt a little bit bad for Natsumi. He knew she definitely didn’t belong here, with all those Reserve Course assholes. And yet, they worshipped her as their beehive queen, and by the time, she seemed to have grown accustomed to the position.

“You know I only came for the papers I asked Father to deliver, you didn’t have to make a scene out of it,” Kuzuryuu grumbled. Natsumi pouted.

“You never come to see me here! Not that I don’t see why, this place’s really a shithole, but you didn’t give me the chance to introduce Hinata to you in a long time!”

“Kuzuryuu, it’s not a big deal, or at least I don’t think…” Hajime tried to intervene, the embarrassment burning the tips of his ears.  _ Does Natsumi really like me that much, to be agonizing over it? _

“Oh shut up, Hinata! Of course, it is!” Natsumi slapped his shoulder lightly. 

Kuzuryuu’s eyes quickly became something akin to slits in that second, and Hajime knew they fucked up somehow. He lifted his hand, jabbing a finger into Hajime’s chest, which made Hajime immediately flinch away in panic. 

“Stay the fuck away from my sister, you creep! You Reserve Course students are shady as fuck!”  _ Of course, he took it the wrong way. And, of course, here we go again with Reserve Course student slur. _

“If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard that…” Hajime murmured, annoyed, while Natsumi began yelling at her brother, making him back down.

“What is wrong with you?! Hinata is my friend, and that’s all! This guy is like, the only one who’s normal here! I just wanted you to be nice, for once!”

“Okay, fuck, I am sorry! Wait, no I am not! I will not be sorry for trying to protect my little sister!”

“Well you have been very eager to do it up until now, haven’t you?”

“Shut up, that’s not fair, you told me not to ever come here in the first place!”

“I did NOT…”

Hajime pretty much tuned out the arguing, because the tall girl approached him, as those two were immersed in their back-and-forth.

“Peko Pekoyama,” she said without much emotion and offered him a courteous bow. He returned it. 

“You’re Miss Kuzuryuu’s classmate?” she asked. Hajime nodded, and she smiled, ever so slightly. “Thank you for taking care of her, then. Master’s been worrying about her, but it seems she doesn’t need any help from him. Not that she ever did, she’s always been quite capable.”

Aside from the strange way she addressed siblings, there were many questions burning in Hajime’s mind for Pekoyama, but apparently, she was faster at putting her own questions into words than him.

“You expressed that you have had troubles with your Reserve Course Student status before. Is that a common thing around here? Miss Kuzuryuu never mentioned anything of sorts.”

One hell of a question. Hajime knew why she would never mention it, mostly because she wasn't experiencing it in the first place. Her family was a HUGE donor to the school, and teachers and staff treated her as such. And the Main Course knew her because of her brother.

“Common thing for sure, but not for Kuzuryuu, so I don’t think you have to be worried.”

Pekoyama nodded, thanking him and turning to leave back to the bickering siblings. 

“Wait! Do you know someone named Komaeda?”

The question jumped out of his mouth before he could stop it. And he had no idea why he asked her this, of all things. It definitely wasn’t because of the Lucky Student being the only thing on his mind besides the boredom today. Definitely not.

“You know Komaeda?” he heard Kuzuryuu’s bewildered chuckle, and Hajime realized he probably blurted the question out way too loudly. He nodded, trying to keep the straight face.

“Oh, you poor bastard. I’ve been wondering about that comment of yours. If it was Komaeda who gave you shit for being in Reserve Course, no wonder you are so fucking fed up with it,” Kuzuryuu barked out laughter, and continued. “But seriously. We are classmates. And let me tell you, the guy’s the worst news possible. Fucking insane. Shit’s crumbling and setting itself on fucking fire all around him. Almost got our homeroom teacher fired last year. Just avoid and forget about him, is my advice.”

Hajime blinked, a bit surprised. He had his expectations, but he never expected Kuzuryuu to put it so… bluntly.  _ And to be honest, it didn't discourage him either. _

“Sounds… Like him, honestly,” Hajime stammered, unsure of what to say. What Kuzuryuu said might be true, but why was Naegi such good friends with the guy? Naegi definitely didn’t seem “fucking insane”. He should look into this.

“How do you know him, anyway? He blew up your house or something?” Kuzuryuu barked out another laugher, and Hajime smirked. He liked this guy. His humor was very refreshing.

The chime announcing the end of the break interrupted anything Hajime would have to say, and Natsumi perked up. “Talk to you after school, bro! We need to go!” She grabbed Hajime’s sleeve and dragged him back to class.

“You didn’t give me the fucking paper- Ah nevermind. Let’s go, Peko.”

\---

_ Wait... What now? _

The incriminating photo, which Enoshima first showed to everyone in class (of course they were all turned to Enoshima, after an announcement like that), and then pushed into Makoto’s nose, was the photo of him and  _ Hinata,  _ as he hugged him in the mall. The relief eased his throat up even before he fully understood what was happening.

“Isn’t that so cute? Of course our little Naegi would fall for a worker bee. An upperclassman, at that! That’s so…” Enoshima struggled to finish a sentence, and Yamada of all people finished it.

“The plot of a shoujo anime!”

Enoshima chuckled. “Indeed. Who would bet on that, though. Naegi being a protagonist.”

“I certainly wouldn’t,” Ludenberg smirked a little bit, her words hurting Makoto. Fukawa was laughing. They all knew that Enoshima loved tormenting him from time to time, but no one has ever joined in. 

_ Wait, this is all based on a complete lie! I have to refute it somehow! _

“No, that’s wrong! We are friends with Hinata, and we were just hanging out during the weekend! And as we were parting, I hugged him, what is wrong about that? Fujisaki and Maizono also were there, with two of our upperclassmen from the Main Course!”

Both omegas seemed to come out of the trance, as Makoto said their names.

“That is true…” Fujisaki piped up, wincing as Sayaka jumped from her seat, fired up.

“Naegi definitely isn’t crushing on Hinata, and even if he was, why would it be a problem? The guy is actually pretty cool!”

Enoshima laughed, the sweet laughter that always meant more problems for Makoto. “I never said it was a problem, Maizono! I said it’s cute! Besides, who else could Naegi score?” 

That hurt. Makoto grit his teeth, so he wouldn’t reply with something he would regret later. 

“That’s enough, Enoshima. Literally nobody cares,” of all people, Kirigiri stood up, her hands folded on her chest. 

“I have to agree with Kirigiri. I can’t believe I have to deal with Fukawa’s, Enoshima’s AND Naegi’s bullshit during one day. And school didn’t even start yet,” Togami groaned and glared at Enoshima. Makoto fought a wince. He sneaked a glance at Sayaka.  _ See, what I have told you? _

There goes his blissful ignorance. Reputation of 'bullshitting' it is.

Enoshima flattened like a balloon. “You guys are no fun!” she lamented and jumped from her desk, one of her heels landing right on Makoto’s sneaker. He whined softly, and she giggled. “Oops. Sorry.”

\---

During the lunch break, Makoto couldn’t sit still. He moved out of the class before Sayaka could talk to him, and headed… Away. Appetite left him for the day, and he didn’t really have the energy to talk to anyone.

Except maybe…

He spotted Kirigiri sitting under the tree, eating gracefully from her bento box and balancing a book on her knee with practice. He headed over.

“Hey, can I… interrupt you?” Makoto asked sheepishly, and she lifted her face.

“Considering how you already did, sure,” Kirigiri commented, and Makoto’s cheeks blushed.

“Oh, I am so sorry. I just… wanted to thank you, I guess. For rescuing me back there.”

Kirigiri blinked, as emotionless as ever. “I think all of us should have put a stop to Enoshima’s actions a long time ago. Most of us just didn’t care enough, which was foolish. So, I don’t think you should be thanking me. It was a proper thing to do. On the other hand, I do admire your nerve while dealing with her for all these weeks.”

Makoto smiled, his mood getting better bit by bit. “It’s not about the nerve, I just think confrontations are unnecessary sometimes. If I were reacting in any other way, it could have become worse quicker,” he said slowly. Kirigiri nodded, as if trying to disassemble his point.

“That’s true. But it did get worse, and we shouldn’t have allowed that in the first place. Not even because bullying an omega is a highly despicable thing to do, but because we can’t tolerate that behaviour in our class.”

“It’s not like Enoshima is wrong, you know! I am an omega. Even though she doesn’t really bully me for that… Anyway, there is no way I would ever be a protagonist. I am good at being a side character, but those are needed too, aren’t they?”

“I think you would be a very relatable protagonist,” Kirigiri said, her lips suspiciously twitching.

Makoto perked up. “Was that a joke?”

Kirigiri covered her mouth with a gloved hand, and Makoto began laughing freely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of things happened here o.O  
> I enjoy building this story so much. Finally, something my gifted burnout ADHD brain is good for - finding the plot twists and connections my beta friend is just O.O-ing at.
> 
> As always, let me know if you have liked the chapter <3


	8. Joke’s On You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto invites Hajime to the Main Course's Halloween Party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise you this chapter isn't a filler. I know, Halloween party setting seems like one, but I swear there is a plot happening xD In this chapter too, there are very important bits and pieces  
> I won't be updating every other day from now on, but every third day. The semester starts on Monday, and while I will write as many chapters in advance during the weekend, I need to free up some time, you know. For school, and the depression and existential crisis that comes with it.
> 
> If anyone were to draw characters in the costumes I assigned them (some are more original, some aren't), I would cry. Just saying. (I would do it myself, like Thanos, but I can't draw to save my life. Hopefully, I make up for it in writing lmao.)
> 
> ALSO, WE ARE ALMOST AT 1K HITS HOW-

“Hinata!” Makoto waved towards the alpha, and lightly jogged over the Main Course gate, where the other waited on the sidewalk. Kirigiri followed him at her own pace and nodded at Hinata as a greeting.

“Hey there, Naegi. Why call me out here all of a sudden?” Hinata asked, motioning at his uniform he was still wearing despite school already ending for the day. “I am not exactly equipped for the hanging out, but if you gave me few minutes I could go change, I should have some casual clothes in the locker-”

“No, that’s not necessary! I just wanted to give you something. Well, we wanted to. Hinata, this is Kyoko Kirigiri, my classmate,” Makoto introduced his newest friend to Hinata, and his cheeks slightly reddened. He remembered the damned  _ crush _ incident from a few days ago, and he knew Kirigiri would think about it too. Well, he could assume. He still couldn’t quite read her face. Kirigiri wasn’t exactly the “wearing the heart on her sleeve” kind of a person. But she always agreed to spend time with Makoto, so she probably did enjoy his company, and that was the most important part, wasn’t it?

“Nice to meet you,” Hinata said and they shook hands. Hinata didn’t question Kirigiri’s gloves, and that was probably for the best. When Makoto did so, she only replied with “I will tell you, someday”.

“So, what’s up?” Hinata asked, smiling down at Makoto. Makoto returned the smile. Hinata wasn't ready for what was coming.

“See, we had this idea, actually the whole group of us. Maizono, Fujisaki, I even caught Nanami in the corridor and asked her to sign the request. Kirigiri’s dad is the Principal, so when she asked him directly, we had the permission granted much faster, and here it is!” Makoto pulled two papers from his bag and handed them to Hinata, who quickly read the first few lines of text and his eyes widened. 

“Is that…?”

“The permission to enter the Main Course campus! It is a one-time thing, to get you unlimited access would be much difficult, even though Maizono was willing to fight the whole committee for it… Anyway, we were hoping you would use it to come to the party with us!”

“Party?” Hinata flipped the papers, looking at the second one. It was a flyer, announcing the Main Course’s first official Halloween party.

“Yes! Isn’t it exciting? School’s quite big on making us form bonds with classmates and other classes, so they make all sorts of events for us, and this one is the biggest yet! They even offered us an individual budget for the costumes! There will be food, dancing, some competitions, and the best costume vote! We were just hoping to hang out and have fun and were hoping you would join. Since you are the part of the gang,” Makoto trailed off, hoping to have hooked Hinata up on the idea. But also, didn’t he ramble too much? 

“The most Reserve Course has done for us is the creepy decorations. The bad kind of creepy, not the good kind. Omegas are walking in groups even more than before through the corridors,” Hinata commented neutrally, but then smiled at Makoto.

“It sounds amazing. Just text me when you want to pick me up at the gate.”

“You are really careful about this,” Kirigiri commented, her eyes focused on Hinata in a somehow unnerving fashion.

“Well, I would hate to get in trouble again, that’s all.”

“Again?”

Hinata looked at Makoto, searching for help. Makoto couldn’t give him anything, since he was also interested in this. Hinata didn’t tell him anything particular about this affair, both two times he’s heard him mentioning it. So he just smiled encouragingly and nodded. He knew by now that Kirigiri needed a lot of information about someone to trust them, and if they weren’t willing to give it, she would find it. Being an Ultimate Detective was so cool.

“Fine. Last year, I got into a fight with the Head of Security. I needed to talk to someone in the Main Course, but they didn’t let me through. He beat me up pretty badly and threatened to throw me out of the school. It was before I got my scholarship, and the guy was really intense about it, so that did a lot on me. I just… learned to be careful, is all,” Hinata finished, gripping the papers in his hands so tightly they crumpled up. As if he was worried Kirigiri would snatch them from him.

“You never mentioned you had a scholarship!” Makoto tried to change the subject slightly, and Kirigiri seemed to be interested in the same thing.

“I didn’t know the Reserve Course offered those. Is it based on good grades?”

Hinata laughed, clearly relieved to change the subject as well.

“No, not at all. I have average grades, at best. But they sent the scouting agents into classes. Everyone thought they were scouting talents for the Main Course, so they probably tried way too hard during the interviews, or at least I assume that’s what happened. I didn’t, I knew I didn’t have anything that remarkable about me, so I just answered questions honestly, and suddenly, there were scholarship papers in front of me. So I signed them. Uhm, read it first of course,” he chuckled at the end when Kirigiri shot him a lifted eyebrow. 

“I don’t really know what they were searching for, but it was surely the good news to my parents. The finances were… running low. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to stay at Hope’s Peak after one year. But it all worked out.”

“That’s amazing! It would be a pity if I didn’t get to meet you, you know,” Makoto bumped into Hinata’s shoulder playfully, and the other laughed heartily. 

“That’s true. Even though the Reserve Course isn’t much of a win, I was able to meet you guys because of it, so that’s cool.”

“It is true that the scouting agents here at Hope’s Peak are ones of the most capable in the world. I don’t dare to assume what they have seen in you, but they certainly did find what they were looking for,” Kirigiri commented, her fingers placed on her chin as if she was thinking it through. 

\---

“Naegi, what in the world is that costume?” Sayaka asked him as she exited her dorm room, and laid her eyes on him.

Makoto turned red immediately, which clashed with the bright orange of his costume. It wasn’t massive, the widened skirt part allowed for a lot of movement, and he had his arms free to move as well. He only worried a little bit about the chill of the air on his arms dressed only in the orange long-sleeved t-shirt, and his legs in black leggings, but the party was being held inside, so he should overcome that.

“It’s a traffic cone, of course! Why, is it unrecognizable?” he immediately began worrying. Did he sew on too many reflexing tapes? He had three stripes, which he deemed to be an average, but maybe it was too much, and he just looked like the weird, shining, wizard tiger.

“That’s… not the problem. But no, it is… great! You look great!” Sayaka said, smiling happily. The pressure in Makoto’s shoulders lessened at once.

“You too! The makeup is amazing! And the dress looks exactly like from the movie!”

Sayaka giggled and spun, the tattered wedding dress flying in the air around her. 

“Thank you! It took me so long to figure out the skeleton hand, but there wouldn’t be a Corpse Bride without it, now would it? Then, my stylist got me this sleeve,” she lifted her left hand, which was clad in the tight smooth black sleeve with a skeleton handprint on it.

“That’s very neat!”

“You guys look amazing!” Fujisaki came running from his room, dressed in the simple Jedi robes from Star Wars. Makoto knew he was a big fan of the franchise, and he even tried to talk about it with Yamada (expecting that the Ultimate Doujinshi Author would know something more about the basic pop culture), but he wasn’t met with much understanding.

_ “You mean, it’s not animated? I’m afraid I do not have the knowledge you seek for in a debate, my dear Mr. Fujisaki. But if you ever watched Demon Angel☆Pretty Pudgy Princess, as I recommended you, we can talk all night long!” _

“And you do too! We really gotta have that Star Wars movie night soon!” Makoto said happily, ignoring a little bit of sour face Sayaka made. 

“Yes! We will invite Hinata again, this time for the weekend, we will get snacks and build a pillow fort, and watch them with healthy discussion breaks in between!”

Now, Sayaka looked very woozy. Makoto pitied her a little bit, but at the same time, he thought it could be good for her. Maybe she would have something to say about the music, at least. He’s remembered that the music in the movies is pretty good. He had seen them, of course, but it was more further in the past than Fujisaki would’ve liked.

“Let’s go get Hinata, and then to the party!”

Their alpha friend was waiting for them at the gate, just like he promised. He looked a little bit nervous, but his face lit up nonetheless when he spotted the omega group.

“Hey, guys! You are surely suited up for the occasion!” he commented. Hinata wore normal clothes, a white t-shirt, and jeans, which were tattered at the edges, fuzzy brown pointy ears nestled in his messy hair, and fake blood splattered all over him. Makoto even spied a fake sharp tooth in his mouth when he smiled, and fake pointy black claws glued to his nails.

“You’re a very handsome werewolf, mister. You come here often?” Sayaka flirted with a smirk, her mood improving after they dropped the Star Wars talk. Hinata reddened so much it was visible even in the poor sunset lighting.

“Eh, I don’t, but would certainly like to!”

Makoto had another “very good day” premonition. This time, he hopefully wouldn’t turn over the snack table. 

\---

The inside of the huge Main Course gym, where the party was being held, was heavily decorated, dimly lit with colorful lights, and already full of people. Music was loud, but not so loud they wouldn’t hear each other talk in the snack area. 

Shockingly (not really), Hinata and Fujisaki resumed the Star Wars talk, both talking with sparkles in their eyes about their favorite parts and theories and everything. Sayaka excused herself for a moment, to head for the bathroom and check her makeup. Makoto just nursed his cup of punch, until he saw the familiar lock of white hair in the mingling crowd.

“Nagito!” he jogged forward, almost spilling the punch all over himself when he bumped into someone on the way and caught the older Lucky Students’ sleeve.

“Makoto! What took you so long? I was getting a little bit lost in here!” Nagito exclaimed, in a strange, shaky tone that was unfamiliar to Makoto. 

“Sorry, we had to make a little detour on our way here!” Makoto didn’t want to tell him about Hinata when he maybe… “Hey, are you alright?”

Nagito got out a choked laugh, the fake pointy teeth flashing in his mouth, his palm sweaty in Makoto’s.

“Yeah, definitely, just the… The crowd is a little…”

There were people all around them, dragging themselves towards the dancing floor. Their group wasn’t apparently the only one with the idea to invite their friends from other schools to the party because Makoto definitely didn’t remember this many people being in the community picnic.

“So you aren’t alright. That’s fine, we just gotta get you out of the crowd, and then we will work on it. Just try to breathe slowly for me. Alright?” Makoto quickly dragged Nagito away, to the other side of the room, where the snack tables were less crowded. He set his punch cup down and pulled a water bottle out of the huge bowl of ice. 

Nagito crouched against the wall, taking slow breaths, his fingers pressed against his temples. Makoto handed him the water bottle. Nagito snatched it and pressed it against the back of his neck. His shoulders immediately relaxed, and he sighed. 

“You’re a treasure, you know it? I don’t deserve y-”

“No no, no bad thoughts. Just your happy place. Okay?”

Nagito nodded and gripped Makoto’s hand. The sharp nails glued to Nagito’s hand dug uncomfortably into his skin, but Makoto let him, hoping it would ground him a little bit for the time being.

He looked around. The mingling crowd on the dancing floor was mostly unfamiliar to him, but it was hard to tell if it was because of the costumes, or because he had never seen the people themselves. He spotted Tsumiki in the corner, with her two classmates (Saionji and Koizumi, if Makoto remembered correctly). Tsumiki looked like she wore her usual clothes, but the nurse’s apron was splattered with fake blood, and her skirt was so short it was almost non-existent. Saionji was examining the apron and saying something, causing Tsumiki to widen her eyes and desperately say something back, waving her hands, and Saionji laughing at that. Makoto frowned. He wished he could help her, but Nagito needed him now.

He looked better, the color returning to his face, his hand being a little warmer. 

“Do you want some water now? I can open the bottle for you,” Makoto offered, but Nagito shook his head. “Thanks, I can do that,” he let go of Makoto’s hand to steady both of his hands around the bottle and open it. His fingers were shaking only a little bit, which made Makoto smile with pride.

“Feel more grounded now?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I am used to these though, and to get out of them on my own, you didn’t have to trouble yourself,” Nagito said with his usual serene smile, which was a good sign, but Makoto’s shoulders dropped.

“You are never a burden to me, Nagito, okay?”

The other just nodded and sipped from the bottle, but even that couldn’t hide the genuine happiness in his smile.

Makoto looked to the side, and almost screeched with surprise. None other than Togami and Ludenberg were standing near the snack table, both dressed in the quite stunning vampire victorian costumes. They were talking to each other in hushed voices, and when they noticed Makoto looking at them, Makoto smiled and waved at them. They waved back slowly.

_ Why are you so awkward? Why do you have to always make such a fool out of yourself in front of Togami? You already have the bullshit reputation, no need to take it even further. Idiot. _

“Heey Naegi, what a lovely costume! What is it, an orange? Or maybe a tangerine?” a sweetly-sickly happy voice trilled behind him, and he froze up.  _ Oh, maybe they weren’t waving at you, maybe it was meant for Enoshima! That is even worse. Fuck. _

“It’s a...traffic cone,” he answered, turning around to face her, and he almost went blind looking at her once. She wore many golden accessories on the white long dress, which were together shining in the colorful lights, topped with the huge crown in the shape of a snake poised to attack.  _ Of course, she would dress as a pharaoh. Pharaoh-ess? That probably wasn’t the right word. _

“Hm. A bit shapeless, if you ask me, but… Cute. Of course, you always are. And who is your adorable cat-boy friend?” Makoto realized Nagito was already standing up and at his side, and Enoshima moved her conflict-hungry eyes on him. 

Nagito wore the expression Makoto had seen only once.  _ When he talked about the Reserve Course.  _ Makoto felt another pang when he realized she recognized Nagito’s costume right away.  _ So, she was just teasing me. Of course, she was. Why would you assume otherwise for a second? Your costume is amazing! _

“What is that to you, Egyptian lady?” Nagito said coldly and took Makoto’s hand. The latter almost gasped at Nagito’s audacity, but the feeling of shock quickly swapped for the childish delight, at the expression Enoshima wore. She looked at Nagito, all bamboozled as if anyone ever didn’t say something like that to her. Given her charm, that might be just true. But Makoto was right now extremely thankful for Nagito’s relentlessness. 

Nagito began to drag him away from Enoshima, but she recovered quicker than Makoto would’ve liked. A delighted smile spread across her face.

“Oh, you aren’t getting away! I still want to meet your Reserve Course friend! I’ve seen him somewhere around here!”

With that, she turned to walk away, but it was Nagito who froze next and slowly turned his face to Makoto.

“W-what?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *insert the Elmo in hell gif*
> 
> Btw I love writing Kyoko. Just a little piece of trivia. Idk why, since I never liked her char that much (I do like her ofc but I have more favorites, that's all), but she came to me so easily while writing! That was nice. For a change.  
> Looking at you, Nagito.  
> That was my first time writing an anxiety attack (I think, my memory is shit lol), and I hopefully did it justice. My google search history is very suspicious right now.
> 
> Let me know what you think about the chapter! :3


	9. How Far We've Come

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hajime's brain overheats.
> 
> You can't really blame him, Nagito confuses him more and more with every word and action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY VALENTINES DAY
> 
> Okay not really, I hate this capitalist holiday, but if you like it, then sure, go nuts. I actually wrote this chapter about 4 days ago? Maybe? And I was like damn... I should post this on the 14th, that would be pretty funny. So, enjoy xD   
> Can you tell that I am a Hajime kinnie and a Nagito simp? I bet you can.
> 
> THE SONG HAJIME SAYS STARTS PLAYING AT SOME POINT IS WIRES BY THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.
> 
> By the wae, thank you so much for more than 1k hits and almost 100 kudos, I would have never expected that to happen. O.O

The party was… alright.

At least, Hajime thought so. It was a normal Halloween party, full of wild people in masks (though Hajime had to admit, masks were mostly better, created with obvious attention to detail - perhaps perfectionism was a thing that talented people had in their default DNA), dancing, laughing, eating, going out to smoke or just chat. It was loud, the lighting was sketchy and colorful, and the punch was obviously spiked.  _ He didn’t mind that last one too much. _

Fujisaki probably wasn’t used to the alcohol, because he began swaying and giggling in the middle of his second cup (they drank it even after Hajime told them it was spiked, they were surprised, but probably wanted to try it anyway), and Maizono took him outside to get some fresh air. Hajime was in the middle of eating a sandwich, so he told them he would join them after. They didn’t pay him much mind, but that was understandable.

The conversation from before emerged, as he watched people mingle around him.

_ “I definitely don’t recognize all of these people,” said Maizono, beginning her second cup of punch, her makeup still flawless. _

_ “Me neither! It seems a lot of people invited their friends from other schools,” mused Fujisaki, his voice coming out heavier than before, which was the first red flag Hajime noticed. _

_ Would you look at that…  _

No, don’t get him wrong. Hajime was very touched when Naegi brought him the invitation. It convinced him the other was honest with his intention of befriending Hajime. He noticed that Naegi didn’t mention Komaeda’s name, in his little list. That could mean only two things. He forgot to mention him, or simply nobody asked Komaeda. 

Kuzuryuu’s warning was still on his mind, of course. But Hajime still couldn’t shake the low-key crush. It was stupid, and considering the mean things Komaeda said to him before, it was as if he idolized the other without absolutely no reason. 

His mom told him once: You can’t choose where, when, or who you love, Hajime, it’s as simple as that. Okay, but this was ridiculous. He would probably do the best thing if he took Kuzuryuu’s advice and completely forgot about the other.

And maybe paid more attention to the weird girl in the Little Red Riding Hood outfit, who seemed to be sloppily spying on him, crouched near the edge of the table? That was weird.   
To his right, the girl dressed in a Death Reaper costume (huge plastic scythe and all, wasn't that dangerous?) was yelling at the girl dressed as Mad Slutty Nurse, something about indecency and girl pride. Huh. If the Death Reaper girl kept this up, she would have a LOT of work to do. More than a half of the girls here seemed to be dressed hardly appropriately. But that was a party, right? Letting go of the routine, and letting loose. 

The girl in Spider-Gwen costume was probably letting loose way too much, considering she used the unfastened gym ropes in the corner to hang upside down.

Still. Normal.

_ And yet, he felt like a fish out of the water here. _

Sherlock Holmes seemed to be approaching him. Oh… He actually knew this person.

“Hello Kirigiri,” he bowed his head, thankfully not yet affected by any of the alcohol.

“Hinata,” she nodded and lifted an eyebrow. “The punch is spiked?”

“Uh…” Hajime’s eyes almost fell out of his face upon hearing that. How did she do that? She wasn’t even close to him to smell his breath.

“Sherlock Holmes vibes much?” he said instead, trying out the dry humor field. It worked - she smirked.

“It was Naegi’s idea. He said it would be funny since that piece of fiction isn’t far away from the true nature of my own work. The fun part is a little bit vague, but it is certainly ironic,” she came closer to the table and sniffed above the punch bowl. “Vodka. Not much to my liking, anyway,” she commented and took the water bottle from the ice pot.

_ The Little Red Riding Hood girl was suddenly gone. Huh. That was weird. _

“Do you want to… dance, or something?” Hajime asked so it wouldn’t be an awkward silence between them. Why not, the awkward conversation was always better!

Despite that, she maintained a smile. “No, thanks. I don’t really dance. And if I had to guess, you don’t either.”

“Definitely not. I’m awful at it. Now that I think about it, I should probably go outside, Fujisaki and Maizono are there, they drank a little bit and Fujisaki didn’t seem to take it well.”

“That’s not surprising, given his small constitution.”

“So, you ARE here,” their conversation was interrupted by a voice that made Hajime’s hair on his nape stand up (and his heart pound just a little bit faster. Traitor).

“Yes, as you can see,” he sighed, fighting himself not to say something more aggressive. Every comeback would be a bad comeback. He faced Komaeda, who wore a strikingly similar costume to his, except the other had cat ears (as opposed to Hajime’s wolf ones) and a green leather collar on his neck; and who hosted the strange expression of pure disinterest, and yet here he was, talking to him.

“Makoto didn’t tell me he invited you. I feel betrayed, I gotta say,” he said, making confusion rise in Hajime.

“Maybe it just doesn’t concern you, that’s why he didn’t tell you.”

“That was mean, Hinata. Of course, it concerns me. We are supposed to be friends, isn’t that right?”

“It was you who seemed super discontented with the idea.”

“That’s true. But we are trying, aren’t we?”

Hajime had no idea how to reply to that, but Komaeda didn’t wait for an answer. He walked to the table, took the empty cup, filled it with the punch, and before Hajime even could manage to open his mouth to warn him, Komaeda downed half the cup.

_ Fuck… I don't think getting this guy drunk is a good idea.  _ Hajime thought as he slowly stepped closer, watching Komaeda carefully. He seemed unaffected enough, yet.

“You know, after I noticed how many people here aren’t from the Main Course, yet this school… I gotta say I feel disappointed. But… I am glad you are here,” he faced Hajime, and while Hajime definitely noticed that Komaeda’s smile was a little bit too crooked, the confusion stopped him from forming an answer.  _ How the hell was he supposed to feel about this guy? _

“So, you’re saying that you want to be my friend?” Hajime asked carefully.

“Oh, what a sly question. But I guess you aren’t that bad. Makoto seems to like you enough, and so did other Ultimates, and who am I to judge their judgment, right?”

Another highly vague answer, but it did give some contentment to Hajime. 

This was certainly a step up from using “Reserve Course student” as the worst kind of an insult.

“So… Want to dance, or something?” Hajime asked, reusing his tactic from before. To his surprise, Komaeda set the cup down (he wobbled a little bit while doing the movement), grabbed Hajime’s hand, and exclaimed: “Sure, why not.”

Hajime’s heart fastened its beat so much he thought he would pass out right there on the spot. Komaeda, with a new wave of enthusiasm (yeah, the quickly drunk alcohol was kicking in) dragged him to the edge of the dance floor, which was full of people, and yet strikingly ruled by the couple in Gomez and Morticia Addams costumes. They danced so beautifully the crowd was formed around them.  _ Well, we definitely aren’t getting there with my skills. _

The strange, ominous, and slow song started playing. Komaeda stopped and smirked. “That’s my luck, you know,” he said, and before Hajime could ask what the hell did he mean, Komaeda shocked him into silence by snaking his arms around Hajime’s neck.

All surfaces on Hajime that could blush immediately did so, as he placed his shaking hands on Komaeda’s hips (if only to steady them a little). 

Komaeda’s face hosted that serene smile again, the smile Hajime crushed on. He smelled of lavender, his loose cloud-like hair helping it carry around. Hajime couldn’t tell if it was shampoo or his omega smell, but he loved it. The white eyelashes he noticed before were more prominent now. Did Komaeda own a white mascara? Aside from that, his cheekbones sparkled, subtly, in a simple highlighter way, not in a glitter way. His waist was slender, even with the hoodie he was wearing. He felt warm and fit nicely in Hajime’s arms. There was a little clove keychain on his collar.

_ Hajime’s brain was overheating. _

“Are you okay? You look as if you have seen a ghost. I mean, there are some among the decorations, but…” Komaeda chuckled, hooding his eyes, and smiling, the fake sharp teeth coming out. Hajime almost bit through the one he had, as he had to bite his tongue. He most definitely couldn’t say something sappy, like  _ “No, but I have seen you.”  _ or  _ “Marry me.” _

“No, I was just surprised how quickly you… Seemed okay with me touching you,” at the end, this answer wasn’t much better, but it earned him another chuckle.

“If I had to trust anyone around here,” Komaeda motioned his head, and his curls adorably bounced, “it would be probably you. You’re less of a stranger. Even though you are still suspicious.”

_ Was that supposed to be a compliment? _

“I guess you’re right. Even about the suspicion part. It’s natural to be careful,” Hajime remarked. 

There was a silence between them for a while, which let Hajime another chance to drown himself in the smell of lavender. So strong now, he was beginning to recognize something under it. Something sweet, heavy, something he wanted to drown himself in.

_ Oh fuck, this was definitely an omega smell. _

“You smell nice,” Komaeda said, and Hajime did his best not to wince since he was thinking about the very same thing at that moment.

“I...do?”

“You do. Like a mint chewing gum,” Komaeda smirked, his eyes hooded again. His cheeks were steadily growing red, and Hajime has the suspicion it wasn’t only because of the alcohol.

“Thanks… You also do. Smell nice.”

That conversation was extremely awkward, but it was absolutely worth the fuzzy feeling in Hajime’s chest. 

The song was almost at the end, and Komaeda sighed, slouching his shoulders a little. “I should go find Makoto. We had a little argument before I walked away to find you. I don’t know why I went off so much. I should apologize. Piece of garbage,” he mumbled, his hands around Hajime’s neck tightening a little. Hajime felt a pang of guilt, not even knowing why, but all it took was Komaeda talking so melancholically.

“Maybe he could be back near that table where we met. We were parked there before with Maizono and Fujisaki,” Hajime offered slowly. “Also I am sure it wasn’t that bad. Surely not enough to call yourself… Anything like that.”

Nagito smirked, the spark back in his eyes. “And what do you know, Hajime Hinata?”

\---

They got back to the table, and while they didn’t find Naegi, they found Kirigiri. Hajime realized with panic that he completely left her alone to go dance with Komaeda. Without a word to her. Holy shit.  _ Komaeda has him seeing in a tunnel vision. _

But Kirigiri didn’t seem to mind, because she just nodded them in a greeting and went back to the conversation with the tall girl with black hair styled in a jaw-dropping way, dressed in a very detailed victorian dress. That, plus her makeup, Hajime would believe that she was a vampire even without the costume.

“He’s not here,” Komaeda was still holding Hajime’s hand, somehow. Hajime decided not to alarm him.  _ Yes, he was enjoying that a little bit. _

“He will probably come. Fujisaki and Maizono are probably still outside, it isn’t like that much time has passed,” Hajime said passing a water bottle to Komaeda, and then taking one for himself. Komaeda let go of his hand as he opened the bottle.

_ Dumbass. Hinata, you are a dumbass. _

“That is him, isn’t it? Naegi’s friend?” the smooth, unfamiliar voice reached Hajime’s ears, and he elected to ignore it, and focus on his bottle.

“Correct. He introduced me to him a few days prior,” Kirigiri replied. So, the former voice was the impressive vampire girl.

“That’s funny. Do you really think there isn’t anything between them?” 

Now that was more interesting. Hajime turned his head, and the cups of punch in both girls’ hands informed him that they weren’t really taking into consideration his close position while talking about him.  _ And… Naegi? _

“Negative. Naegi may be overly friendly to seemingly random people, but he knows best. And in this case, it seems to be just that. Why… are you asking?”

“Oh, that’s a funny story. I lost a bet.”

Komaeda also seemed interested in the conversation, since he was also facing the girls, and in the next second, he started to cackle. To say Hajime was confused, was a very light statement.

“Wh-What is going on? Why would anyone think that about me and Naegi?” he whispered to Komaeda, who instead of explaining, wheezed and grabbed Hajime’s shoulder to keep himself upright.

_ You know what? Nevermind. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you didn't read that in the note before, THE SONG THEY DANCE TO IS WIRES BY THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.
> 
> I have a little game for you! I purposefully wrote into this Hajime's chapter cameos of characters that are costumes-only, but all of them were very specific people from classes 78 or 77. If you want to have some fun HCing, try to guess who has which costume!   
> I can also drop you some unused ideas bcs they rock:   
> \- Leon as Deadpool (he would rock it)  
> \- Chiaki as Super Mario (mustache and all)  
> \- Yasuhiro - do you know Mr. Banana from Miraculous Ladybug? Well, that  
> Also, Kazuichi would definitely overwork his costume with details, only for Sonia to not know that one particular horror/occult/mystery movie/anime/show it is from
> 
> Yes, I have thought about this way too much. But this concludes the Halloween party, and we are moving on to another arc, a super exciting one! SKIING TRIP :D (plz don't hate me I swear it is amazing)


	10. SLIDE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The skiing trip had only started, and Makoto already has to deal with some shit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I am very sorry for the delay. I wasn't feeling the best, and since I really love this fanfic as my own baby, I didn't want it to be half-assed. I am sure some of you know what I am talking about. But as compensation, I've prepared a treat for you in the next chapter. I am sure most of you don't need it, but I wanted to make some things clear this way. The next update asap, I won't be waiting 3 days this time.
> 
> I am super excited for this arc, so many things are about to happen, you have no idea.

“I’m nervous about this.”

“Fujisaki, you can’t say that! Not an amazing person like you…”

“Oh my god, not this again. Don’t worry Fujisaki, if you don’t want to, we don’t have to go into the slope! We can check out the hotel wellness instead. I gotta say, I might need it after the latest exams.”

“But Oowada promised me he would show me his snowboard tricks, I gotta go!”

“We will make sure nobody gets hurt! Right, Naegi?”

As Sayaka called his name, Makoto was torn out of the thought. The country running behind the windows of the bus was pretty, the fields slowly turning into forests and snow that they were covered in getting thicker and thicker, as they got closer and closer to the hills. 

The skiing trip, they said. It would be fun, they said, another bonding exercise during the weekend after the first wave of exams. They even promised them extra credit on the exams, if they partook in it. They were supposed to have one of the most luxurious hotels on the hillside just for themselves, the closest one to the slope at that, with wellness and dozens of other free-time activities. School even funded the skiing equipment for those who didn’t have their own, and the program they have put together wasn’t mandatory, as long as no one was spending time alone.

What was making Makoto so nervous about it? As opposed to Fujisaki who apparently had never stood on skies before, Makoto had. His parents took him and Komaru skiing before. It was fun (laughing when either he or Komaru fell, that is), but he wasn’t that good. As if that alone was enough to discourage him!

Was it Kirigiri’s speech about how weird it is, pouring all of the money in the Main Course for no other reason than to “have fun”, which was weird? The school adopted a friendlier approach, which was fine, of course, especially if the public wished it, but the amount and things they were trying to achieve were overwhelming with the pinch of mystery. They couldn’t measure just how much the classes were mingled and cooperating, and it wasn’t bound to bring lasting results for the future, Kirigiri theorized. She apparently talked with Hinata during the party, found out how alarmingly underfunded Reserve Course seemed and was looking into the issue ever since. But that didn’t discourage her from participating, as she was sitting with Ludenberg in front of Makoto and Nagito.

Or were it exams? They still weren’t over, and while the extra credit seemed amazing, Makoto had the feeling he should study more. But, if that didn’t discourage Hagakure or Kuwata, who both had worse grades than Makoto, it probably wasn’t that alarming.  _ On the other hand, Hagakure never was particularly concerned about his grades. That wasn’t a good example. _

Was it Enoshima’s excitement about the trip, which she has been announcing to class from day one? Makoto found himself feeling anxious about anything Enoshima said. She was mostly ignoring him after the party, but that wasn’t a relief. More like a sword hanging over his head. So that could be enough of a reason.

_ He would never admit to anyone that he finally decided to go only after he witnessed Togami handing the sign-up form to the teacher. Even Sayaka didn’t know. It was stupid and cheesy and naive, but Makoto thought “Hey if Togami doesn’t deem it a complete waste of time, it can’t be that bad, right?” He couldn’t even have any hopes left for building any sort of connection or relationship with the other, not after what happened with Enoshima and Hinata. Togami seemed to avoid their omega group in the class like the plague after that. _

He didn’t talk to anyone about his concerns. With Fujisaki panicking about keeping his legs just the way they were throughout the trip (not broken), they had just enough things to worry about. Nagito wasn’t that great of help either. Through the last few days, he’s been staring at his phone more and more, replying to any question or remarking with a few basic phrases, the majority of them being something obnoxious. He was doing that even now, his head tipped to the side to listen to the conversation, but staring and typing into his phone relentlessly. 

Makoto didn’t ask him what was going on. He didn’t really feel like it was his place. He just hoped it didn’t mean the older omega was growing bored of their group, and especially of him.

\---

The mixed and assigned roommates didn’t exactly please anybody.

“This is preposterous! We were led to believe we would have the whole hotel to ourselves, why do we have to forcibly endure the company of a person we maybe don’t even know? Sleeping is a highly private act, and it remains as one in our dorms, so how is this possible?” Ludenberg was the loudest about it, and she angrily waved her hands, standing in front of the class’ 77 homeroom teacher, Chisa Yukizome, who was announcing the names and handing out the keys. Yukizome had quite a calm smile on, in Makoto’s opinion, despite the fact the angry Ludenberg was an element of nature.

“I know, I know, but these are the direct orders of the school. We assigned the rooms so everyone would be safe with the secondary gender they have, and if there are some serious problems with the rooming, we can arrange a switch. But I recommend you trying out the partners first. Even after all this time, we can make new friends, right?”

Ludenberg didn’t look very happy with it, but she groaned under her breath and stomped away, dragging Kirigiri, Togami, and her black huge suitcase adorned with white lace away down the hall.  _ Somehow, all three. Makoto was getting the feel that excited or angry girls were able to grow a third hand. _

Yukizome called out Nagito’s name, but he wasn’t reacting, only staring into his phone with a wrinkle between his eyebrows. Makoto poked him with an elbow, and he startled as if he was doing something illegal.

“You’re up,” Makoto explained in a neutral voice and sighed. 

He had no idea who his roomie was, because they didn’t announce it all, and it was probably supposed to be a surprise. Makoto wasn’t in a mood for surprises. The unexplainable dread eating away at him was a serious problem now.

The one person they all would have expected to complain the most, queen Enoshima herself, was just leaning against a marble pillar, picking at her perfect manicure and grinning like a pleased cat. 

_ I have to suck it up. If not for myself, then for Fujisaki.  _ The other omega was as white as a sheet after the news. 

Nagito returned, finally not looking at his phone, and gave Makoto a smile. Makoto immediately perked up. “Do we have the same number?”

They compared the keychains on their card keys, and it wasn’t the same, but it was just a room apart. That was good luck, in a sense.

“Is everything alright? I noticed that you weren’t very excited about the trip from the beginning,” Nagito said, taking Makoto’s elbow gently. 

Makoto wasn’t expecting that. “Uhm, no, I’m just worried about Fujisaki.”

Nagito’s smile grew a little sad. “I know you’re lying, but that’s alright. I wouldn’t expect you to entrust your worries to somebody like…”

“If you finish that sentence, I am seriously going to hit you. I am not lying. I am worried. Fujisaki is tougher than he seems, Maizono would push herself to retrieve any of us out of hell if she had to, but I am not very good at skiing, and you are a disaster magnet when it comes to sports. I don’t want anyone to be hurt,” he explained, taking Nagito’s shoulders.

“Not very hopeful, is it, Makoto? Also, I am hurt. I am quite confident in my skiing ability,” Nagito said with a pout.

Makoto lifted his eyebrows. “Well I am excited to see that. And...relieved.”

“Thank you. Shall we go now?”

“We shall.”

Sayaka and Fujisaki were assigned rooms on the same corridor as the two of them, and before they made arrangements to meet up at Fujisaki’s room to decide what to do with the rest of the day, so all there was left to do was finding their own rooms. They took the elevator and found Nagito’s room first.

As soon as he opened the door, the booming voice welcomed them.

“Who dares to enter the Temple of the Hellspawn?!”

“Ah, Tanaka! How hopeful to see you!”

“The luck demon… The two of you, at that. So, one of you is to be my companion during the stay in this frozen wasteland?”

“That is correct, and it would be me! Oh my, rooming with an Ultimate, what an honor,” Nagito’s knees suddenly buckled, as if he just realized the situation, and Makoto scrambled to catch him and steady him on his legs.

Out of everyone in the whole school, Tanaka seemed like someone least likely to participate in the skiing trip. But the furry coat, heavy boots, and the scarf he was wearing even inside the warm room gave Makoto the impression he was ready for the “frozen wasteland” conditions. The hamsters scuttering around the bed were another question entirely.

Nagito was babbling something about the incredibly high amount of luck he’s been honored with, so Makoto just set him on the free bed. 

“I’ll leave you to unpack, okay? I still have to check out my own room. See you at Fujisaki’s.” Nagito nodded and threw himself down into the pillow, the wide smile ever-present. Tanaka didn’t seem to mind them now at all, focused on the hamsters.  _ And talking to them in a surprisingly soft voice. _

His room was the same as the one before, and nobody was in yet. He closed the door and chose the bed closer to the window, hoping it wouldn’t matter to the other. The view from the balcony was nice, the panorama of the white trees and the wellness building calming. Makoto set his suitcase next to the bed and took out his phone, to take a photo of the view and send it to Komaru.

_3:23pm_ **Best Big Bro:** The view is truly something, isn’t it?

_ 3:24pm  _ **Even Better Little Sister:** Jealous!!! You better stop worrying and enjoy it, understand?

“Open the door already, goddamnit! How can you be so useless with the card key?” 

_ Oh fuck. _

Makoto whipped his head around with his eyes wide, just as the lock beeped and Enoshima’s big boot kicked the door open. She came in first, carrying the armful of clothes. Ikusaba came in next, dragging a small black suitcase behind her. 

“Why did you take so many clothes?”

“Fuck you for asking. It’s about the statement! And for a luxurious hotel they were promising us, the wardrobe is awfully small. Also, do you seriously expect me to leave my underwear and sleep clothes in the room with that creep they roomed me with? He was thinking he was so smooth, hitting on my boobs the second I came in. And he was excited when I kicked him! A desperate loser, just like you.”

“I can deal with him, if you want.”

“But you can’t make my wardrobe bigger, so just shut up and open it already!”

_ Good news: Enoshima is not rooming with you. _

_ Bad news: She will be probably spending a lot of time here anyway. _

Makoto was very close to hiding under the bed, but before he could do that, Enoshima’s shining eyes spotted him.

“Oh my Gaga, if it isn't Mr. Lucky himself! Isn’t that nice, Mukuro? Two losers having a sleepover!”

Makoto steeled himself. He elected to ignore everything Enoshima would say. He just had to take a few things out of the suitcase, and then head to Fujisaki’s. He didn’t feel like unpacking anyway. Enoshima could have all the wardrobes in the room if she wanted.

“Oh come on, why the long faces? You are both so lame. I bet you ten bucks he didn’t even want to go, but that bitch Maizono would combust if she didn’t have her whole little pack to follow her like the lost puppies. Can you even ski on those thin legs, Naegi?”

“I don’t know, can you even talk with a little brain like that?” Makoto opened his suitcase with more strength than he intended, the lid thumping loudly against the floor.

Only with the tense silence that followed he realized that it was him who said it. Panic flooded him instantly. He slowly turned his head to peek at the two girls.

Enoshima’s eyes were as wide as saucers, while Ikusaba looked just a little out of her usual stoic self.  _ He really said it aloud, it wasn’t just his imagination. Fuck. What now? Should he apologize? He normally couldn’t even dream of doing this, but Enoshima calling Sayaka a bitch did it. Oh no, she was going to kill him. Strangle him with those red claws of hers. An omega insulting alpha like that… No, that wasn’t Enoshima’s style. She was just going to make his life a living hell. Oh no, he should definitely apologize. Wouldn’t she just call that lame? Fuck! _

The booming loud laughter that came in the next second did nothing to ease Makoto’s brain of the panic it was drowning in.

“What the fuck, Naegi, where have you been hiding those steel balls all this time? That is hilarious, did you hear what he said, Mukuro?”

“I did.”

“That was obviously a rhetorical question, idiot. I swear you are so fucking stupid sometimes…”

“I’m sorry!” The apology slipped out of Makoto, as he lowered his head between his shoulders in the purely instinctual reaction. Enoshima stopped berating Ikusaba and looked back at Makoto, her eyes suddenly reminding him of the snake slits.

“That’s fine, little Naegi, don’t worry about it. However,” the word sent shivers down Makoto's spine. Enoshima threw the armful of clothes at Ikusaba and started to slowly move towards frozen Makoto, going as far as laying a hand on his shoulder.

“I can talk just fine. Which means you can ski just fine! How about you proved it, just like I can prove it? Don’t you think that is fair?”

“E-excuse me?” Makoto really didn’t want her touching him, but he was too frozen to do anything about it. Her artificial strawberry alpha smell, combined with some perfume and smell of her bubblegum were nailing him to the floor, the unshown aggressivity seeping through it. He had to fight with all his might not to bare his neck to her. 

“Oh, you didn’t hear? They are holding a ski race tomorrow morning. Friendly, anyone can participate, all that bullcrap. I already signed up, because I looove  _ friendly _ , and I was about to hand out my form after I stashed my clothes here. I could do you a favor and hand out yours as well, what do you say? A nice favor for a classmate.”

“My...form?”

“Of course! You are going to sign up, right? I bet you will even beat me with your amazing skiing, isn’t it right?”

Enoshima was gripping his shoulder so tightly by now his arm was going numb. The smell was heavy and embraced Makoto like a tight blanket, making his breaths shallow and his thinking sluggish.  _ Is she… manipulating me through her smell? _ He realized way too slowly, as Enoshima pushed a pen into his hand.

“I even have a blank form for you. Here you go! You see how nice I am?”

“Very...nice,” Makoto repeated, terrified of his own voice. The artificial strawberry smell pushed him out of his head. This has...never happened to him before. And the rational part of him knew this was a terrible violation of his fucking  _ human  _ rights, but the part still flooded with panic insisted he deserved it. For the insult. He had to please the alpha. 

He signed the form.

Enoshima released him with a huge grin.

Makoto fled the room.

And he made sure to dry his tears and calm his breathing before he entered Fujisaki’s room.

\---

“Oh she is no Ultimate, let me tell you. That is horrible. There is no hope in that. I will tear the bitch to pieces-”

“Shhh shut it!” Makoto threw himself over Nagito, muffling him with the gloved hand.

They were outside, on the lowest level of the slope. Makoto really couldn’t bring himself to tell Sayaka or Fujisaki the circumstances of his sign up to the race, except for “I thought it would be fun! Don’t feel pressured to join me, of course, I would hate seeing you hurt or anything!”, but three hours later and countless Nagito’s suspicious glares at his red eyes and nose, Makoto gave in. The others were in the distance, Oogami, and Asahina gently helping Fujisaki with his technique, while Sayaka was filming them and cheering Fujisaki on. 

Nagito, as it turned out, wasn’t exaggerating his skiing skills. Oogami and Asahina commented that he is a “demon”  _ (where did Makoto hear this today) _ and he “clearly doesn’t care what people think of him, OR if he will ever walk again”. That last part wasn’t very comforting, but Makoto was happy to see Nagito have so much fun. Until...

“You should tell the teachers.”

“No! Definitely not. Out of the question.”

“Why???”

“Because… I am not even sure why she did it, or how! Maybe she controls teachers too, and she got them to match me with Ikusaba! Maybe she just did it for giggles, like everything else! Because I don’t know anything, and it was stupid of me to even open my mouth at her. That’s why.”

“You don’t have to know any of that!”

“I don’t have any proof! It will be my word against hers and Ikusaba’s. That is a hopeless fight, and you know it.”

“Hopeless fight? Since when do you  _ know _ those?”

“Please, I… I don’t want to make it bigger than it is. I really don’t. Please don’t be mad at me.”

Nagito sighed, his shoulders slouching a little bit. The breaking of Makoto’s voice was clearly breaking his heart. He gently took the other into the hug, Makoto’s head fitting perfectly under Nagito’s chin.

“I’m not mad. I’m just worried about you. Rooming with that bitch… Shouldn’t we at least ask for the room exchange? If she will be there all the time and an alpha…”

“If she were someone from the other class, then yes, but like this, it doesn’t make sense. She is a classmate, and we spend enough time together as it is. It’s a dead end.”

“Fine. But I am coming to sleep with you today.”

“Huh?”

“I won’t leave you alone. If there isn’t enough space on the bed, I will take the floor. I don’t care, I won’t be able to sleep if I know she can fucking pounce on you any time she wants. You know that your omega will react to the smell faster this time, right?”

Makoto could feel the bile starting to crawl up his throat. “Yes, please don’t remind me.”

“Sorry. But really, you should start taking your own advice - you told me to stop blaming myself for things that aren’t my fault, and this definitely wasn’t your fault. And you definitely didn’t deserve it. You told the bitch off because she insulted Maizono, that is completely valid.”

Makoto smirked into Nagito’s neck. “Since when are you so good at pep-talks?”

“Oh, I would hardly say I’m good. More like…”

“You’re right. Hinata’s just imprinting on you.”

Nagito jumped, and Makoto almost fell into the snow. “What?” Makoto couldn’t help himself, but to laugh at the choked voice of the other.

“Nothing! I was obviously joking. I know you don’t like him, believe me. Please don’t give me the Reserve Course speech again.”

“I thought so. The one at the Halloween party was sufficient, wasn’t it?”

“It definitely was. Please, never again.”

“I apologized!”

Makoto hugged Nagito again. There was nothing better to calm his nerves than the other and his gentle lavender smell, especially since the awfully sweet strawberry was still clinging to the back of his throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do be trying to make you guys hate Junko lmao
> 
> She will be no crazy yandere despair gf on my watch (ง'̀-'́)ง


	11. OMEGAVERSE LORE AND Q&A

**Hey, my beloved readers! childofhebe here.**

I feel like I should put this out here because I refuse to explain some stuff within the story. There is no way to write it as a smooth dialogue (my Achilles' heel is writing dialogues only for readers to read; the ones that don’t push characters anywhere, because this shit is common knowledge for them). I may be a lazy piece of shit, but my fanfic senses are probably my best character trait, so just trust me on this. This is no “show, don't tell” thing, because it's science (in this universe). And for many of you, it is common knowledge too. Even though this isn’t fanfic entirely focused on the omegaverse factors, I still consider them crucial, and I plan to use some little things as plot devices (as you could see in chapter 10). And while I can explain as society works in the fic (which is the focus here), I hardly could explain “basic biology”.

**I do recommend passing your eyes over this** **even if you are familiar with omegaverse rules. I added some stuff that is my own** (not 100% ofc, it might be used elsewhere, it's just my interpretation for this universe). And if you don't have much idea about the rules of the omegaverse, I admire you getting this far in the fanfic. Hope this helps you to enjoy the story more and google less xD

**TW: Mentions of rape (nothing graphic)**

**The most basic things:** Secondary genders (SG) - alphas, betas, omegas. (I contemplated adding deltas because there are way too few fanfics with deltas, and I identify as a delta on the scale, but I doubt it would come up smoothly in the story, so for now there are only the basic three). SGs don't depend on the primary gender (PG), which are female, male, and anything non-binary or trans you can think of. They are considered to be independent of each other because while PG influences the look of reproduction organs, the SG influences their purpose. M-preg? Yes, I'm in.  **Not in this particular fanfic** , but someday somewhere maybe (I have a dark past). Also, I am not decided yet if people have usual reproductive organs, or if they are intersex. It won't be really needed in this fanfic, but if it ever comes up, I will make sure to tag everything appropriately.

**Alphas:** the most dominant gender, as usual. Their purpose is to take care and provide, and their pheromones (in this fanfic mostly referred to as smells) can influence other SGs easily. They have two scent glands and one bonding gland on their necks (scent glands also on wrists). Their smells are usually the heavier ones, meant to announce their presence quickly. (Scent blockers and SG maskers exist, and actually, a lot of alphas elect to block their scents, because they don't want the blockhead status that comes with it). Besides ruts (three times a year, with suppressants existing and being widely popular, though it is recommended by doctors to have at least one rut a year) they have one more specific trait -  **Raging** . Raging is a state alpha enters when (the most likely cause) the omega they are bonded with is hurt. Every other alpha in their vicinity, no matter how close they are, should get away quickly because they WILL attack. And their physical strength multiplies, something like when mothers can lift cars when their kids are trapped underneath. They can't hold this state for a long time, and unless a very familiar omega or their own omega calms them down, they will pass out within circa 20 minutes, with a high chance of slipping into a coma. It's the last resort, basically, the "my omega is dead so I will go too and take as many mfs with me" stuff.  _ Ahaha I'm so funny. _

**Betas:** I've elected not to give betas the "usual humans" role, bcs no one is normal around here. Betas are mediators. Where alphas fight and shout, betas discuss. Ofc it depends on personality, but they have a natural talent for resolving stupid alpha conflicts. Their mild scent, when released on purpose (they are able to consciously control it, unlike alphas and omegas) is capable of calming down angry alphas, though not raging alphas. Their reproduction roles are "usual" - those AAB females and AAB males work just like us, regular humans. They can bond an alpha or omega, but they don't possess a bonding gland themselves, just the scent glands.

**Omegas:** to put it in an archaic way, 'petite' SG. Society has progressed a lot, and omega oppression isn't that common, besides assholes and stupid kids (as demonstrated by Makoto various times), who still practice it. All of them have the ability to get pregnant, and their heats have a higher frequency than alpha ruts (4 times a year). Again, it is advised to have at least one a year for medical purposes. Their scent is the most soothing one and designed to lure alphas.  **They have actually two bonding glands - one for the alpha, and one for one fellow omega.** Bonds between omega friends, therefore, are a common thing. They are believed to be physically weaker, but that is no longer the case, omegas can buff themselves just as good as any other SG.  **Alphas can influence omegas with their scent, something like an 'Alpha Command'** used in the other fanfics, but it's subtle and if used way too often, it can completely brainwash the omega. If unconsented to, it's considered as severe as rape by law. If the omega is bonded, only their alpha's scent can influence them, but even then it is advised to handle it carefully. Omegas also have a special trait -  **Drop.** Drop serves as a defense mechanism for omegas, but it's just as dangerous as raging. If entered unsupervised by a doctor, the drop can lead to a coma. It is characterized by slowing down the visible brain activity and stopping all physical activity, and it can be caused by a prolonged fragile mental state, sudden distress, and high physical pain. Only the bonded or close alpha/omega can coax omega out of the drop. In a bonded pair, both raging and drop going on at the same time is considered extremely dangerous, because basically there is no one to bring them out of the state, and medical assistance must be called immediately.

**Honorable mention: Deltas.** Deltas are born without an SG. They are scentless, glandless, and they are infertile. Basically asexuals and agenders of the omegaverse. You can see why I like them so much. Their role in society is mostly rationally covering up the messes of other SGs. Fun times. I do that all the time. 

**Ruts/heats:** the vulnerable states of a "need to copulate". They both last from three days to a week, though ruts tend to be shorter. Alphas enter an extremely on edge and violent state (which requires more stamina, therefore they shut down quickly if not taken care of), and omegas are very pliable and dizzy, and their scent is able to send over the edge even the alpha who isn't in a rut (or on suppressants). These are also the most fertile states for both SG. It can be painful to try to spend them alone, the pain increasing with age and all that. Suppressants work to stop the cycles, something like birth control, except if omegas don't wish to conceive, they also have to have the birth control shots before the rut/heat. If suppressed too much, such as taking suppressants 10 years a row without one heat/rut, it can lead to infertility and impotence (and various mental illnesses). The unconsented attack (by alpha) or luring (by omega) is considered rape (since in many cases it is one). A trope of many kinky fanfictions. If you've ever read Omegaverse fanfic, I can guarantee that your first had this trope in.  **(If your first is mine, well, thank you, I'm honored!)**

**Bonds:** the last one, I swear. Alphas and omegas both possess bonding glands on the backside of their necks (alphas one, omegas two), which are designed to take the bite of the other person (even beta, as stated before). Bonds, however, aren't eternal by any circumstances, and have to be renewed - an omega friendship bite every half year or so, and alpha bond bites every year. The two-way bond (when partners bite each other) allows **the pair to feel the strong or lasting emotions of the other** (such as love, or anger, or sadness, or surprise), and they know when the other is in  **physical pain and can take some of that away, divide the pain in two between them.** The one-way bond is more tricky - it lasts shorter, and only the one who bit the other can feel the emotions and pain. Meaning, the one who bears the mark can't. However, they do become more reactive to the scent of the other. Unconsented bonding is considered by law as severe as rape. 

Also,  **the bond ropes exist** \- when the two omegas bonded by different alphas bond, the connection is shared between all of them, like a communication cable, so even alphas can feel each other's emotions through their omegas (watered down, but the traces are there).  **This is how packs are formed** . (Guess where this fanfic is going lmao).

If you made it all the way here, **let's make it a Q &A in the comments** ! I will answer every question (without spoilers), regarding this lore. You can also ask about the yet unmentioned dynamics of the characters! I have this huge chart where I've assigned everyone an SG. XD Many of them mayhaps won't get a mention, if the plot won't require it, so if you are curious, I can answer it for you here! :3

ALSO, I would like to remind you, that a playlist for this fanfic exists, with all the songs the chapters are named after. I add the songs in advance, so you can get the sneak peek vibe for the chapter that isn’t posted yet! 

[ https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ZykMsoQx8N4zseXq4LLDG?si=98cd39292d5043ec ](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ZykMsoQx8N4zseXq4LLDG?si=98cd39292d5043ec)

Thanks, and looking forward to your questions! (I would be grateful for anything, seriously, please. I love you guys so much for reading this fanfic, and I love to give you my love individually as well) <3 

  
  
  



	12. Hourglass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ski race has some unexpected outcomes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this right after I put it together, at 5:30 am, before I think it over
> 
> I have a serious love-hate relationship with this chapter, but it was necessary to get through. The next one, that will be a serious treat for me. Ahaha fuck meeee

_ This hill is way too high. _

Makoto’s head was spinning. If he didn’t have the ski poles in his hands, gripping them so tightly they weren’t far from breaking, he would have fallen to the ground a long time ago.

_ That hill is way too high. And steep. _

The people around him didn’t seem to matter the gawking abyss beneath them. He heard chatter, laughter, complaints about too-tight boots, or how they were underdressed for the occasion, even shouts of people eager to start the race. He also heard the shuffling of the skis in the snow, as people mingled, greeted their friends, and searched for the best start-up position. 

_ That hill is way too high. Why is it so high? _

The weather was beautiful. The sky was clouded, reminding Makoto of the foam on the latte, but there was plenty of light, and almost no wind, at least when he was standing still. It wasn’t snowing, as opposed to the nighttime, when the completely new layer of the snow generously covered the slopes and forests around. The workers of the ski resort worked all morning to smooth it out for people that liked to start their day early - and for their race.

_ This. Is. Bullshit. Why am I here? _

Even a few people who weren’t participating in the race were there, to see them off. Makoto couldn’t see the bright red numbers on their chests. Everyone who participated received one, as soon as they arrived on the spot. The order which they handed them out must have gotten mixed up.

Despite them arriving together, on the same chair lift at that, Nagito received number 44.

Makoto had 17.

_ I am seriously going to die. _

Maybe they were handing out numbers in the order in which people signed up. That could make sense. Makoto did so… pretty early, and Nagito only scrambled to get his form in today before breakfast. Makoto was trying to talk him out of it almost the whole night but to no avail.

They did end up sleeping together in one bed - in Nagito’s room. Nagito’s roommate, Gundham Tanaka, an Ultimate Breeder of class 77, didn’t seem to mind having  _ “two luck demons instead of one” _ sleeping with him in the same room, and when Nagito explained the situation to him in his strange, vague way, Tanaka seemed almost sympathetic. He asked Makoto if he should exorcise the despair demon out of his classmate and create him a protection sigil, but Makoto declined. For one, he had no idea what that meant, and for two, he doubted there was anything anyone could do about Enoshima’s horribleness. 

Tanaka also didn’t mind two omegas whispering and talking through half the night, nor Nagito and Makoto cuddling. He was probably used to hearing silent noises throughout the night, as hamsters scuttered around his sleeping figure even during the night.

_ Why do they make ski trails so high? _

Normally, he would be super happy. Nagito seemed to drop his sudden phone addiction to give Makoto attention. They figured there would be plenty of space for both of them on the queen-sized bed, but they were drawn to each other’s embrace pretty quickly during the little micro-sleeps between the conversations. They petted each other’s hair and scented each other - Makoto’s neck smelled of lavender even now under the two scarves and face mask. It was calming him, but not enough. Not  _ nearly _ enough. However, in the night, it had been so easy, to just relax into the other omega’s arms.

Last night, Nagito admitted to Makoto that he had never scented anyone else before. And Makoto was happy to push the thoughts of strawberry and mortal danger out of his mind and show him how  _ (not that he was an expert, the only person he had scented before was Komaru when they were small and she came home from school upset - and she was a beta) _ . It has been awkward at first, of course, with Nagito being twitchy and ticklish. Makoto figured the other was severely touch starved, but up until now, the other got used to Makoto’s touch pretty quickly - like a moth drawn to the flame, Nagito was now initiating touch even more often than Makoto was.

Makoto would have been very, very happy right now...

_ If it weren’t for the huge abyss yawning beneath his feet. _

“Hey,” Nagito nudged his shoulder. “Stop looking down already.”

Makoto tore his eyes off the vast space below only aided by the sweet smell coming from under his scarf. Nagito was smiling at him, even though there was a phone with a lightened-up screen in his hand. Makoto’s heart sank. A tiny little bit.

“I know it looks high, but it’s just as high as my hopes for you! It’s going to be fine. You can just slowly glide down. Nobody around here is taking this seriously, so where is the rush?”

Makoto took in a deep breath, closing his eyes. Nagito was right. He had absolutely nothing to prove to Enoshima, or anyone else. He could just take it slowly, enjoy the ride, and maybe it would get better after the first few meters. It could be fun, and he could learn something new from this! Of course! Why didn’t he think of this before?

He opened his eyes, and the  _ mountain  _ under him quickly reminded him why.

“Okay… Maybe… You’re right.”

“Oh, I would never dream of being right over an amazing Ultimate like you…”

_ What? _

Nagito was looking at his phone again, one of his gloves off and quickly typing with bare fingers on the screen.

_ Oh. Of course. _

“May I have your attention?” Makoto’s homeroom teacher, Miss Meirou, shouted into a megaphone. The crowd around slowly stopped moving and quieted down, beside an occasional gleeful giggle. “Thank you. It’s absolutely wonderful that so many of you signed up! The rules are simple - there aren’t any. If you are taking this race seriously or not, it's up to you. With Miss Yukizome, we thought it could be a nice way to challenge yourselves, even if you aren’t very sport-oriented, but please take your own skills into the consideration while skiing down. We certainly don’t want anyone injured or lost. But if you want to take it seriously, the first three of you that cross the line down there will be rewarded! Be careful, be considerate of others and your own skillset, and Miss Yukizome will see you down there!”

“Good luck, little Naegi!” someone purred into Makoto’s ear, as he was trying to pay attention to the teacher’s words. He winced in terror and turned his head. Enoshima’s cat grin was splitting her face in half. Her ponytails were hidden beneath layers of clothing and a black cap that read “you loser” right into Makoto’s face. There was no red number on her chest.  _ Wait for a second… _

“Um… Didn’t you say that you…” Makoto found the words, but Enoshima was already one step ahead of him.

“Of course I compete! Look!” she pointed to Makoto’s left, to the figure already readied in the start position at the edge of the hill. The two pink ponytails were sticking from underneath their cap, but even the facemask couldn’t hide their narrow, grey eyes. “Ikusaba…” Makoto murmured, completely dumbfounded. Enoshima giggled in his ear, and as he turned back to face her, she was already gone like the smoke.

Nagito was still staring at his phone.

“No. I’m not going to do this. I am dropping out. This is bullshit. I am not playing her games,” Makoto murmured and turned around, to leave the restless crowd. Judging by the “What?” He probably finally got Nagito’s attention, but he couldn’t even care. Enoshima played him like a fiddle again, and honestly, he was only disgusted at this point. He tried to ignore the hot tears collecting in his eyes, and just to get out of the crowd, which was getting suspiciously tight around him now.

“Get ready, set, go!” Miss Meirou’s voice sounded fuzzy in Makoto’s ears.

The person Makoto was currently in front of, forcefully pushed themselves off the ground, colliding with him, and sending him into the motion as well. In fact,  _ all of the people around him were moving forward,  _ the excited yells resonating in the crispy air.

Suddenly, Makoto was falling, with his legs still planted on the ground. The wind was slapping him in the face, pushing out the tears and making him squint his eyes desperately. The world around him was one big smudge, white with an occasion of color when someone else outran him. With how he was desperately tilting from side to side, that wasn’t any surprise. The voices and laughter were now swapped with the roaring of the wind and the hissing of many skis in the snow, and he couldn’t focus. He couldn’t gain control of his movements, not at this speed. He couldn’t even  _ breathe. _

He attempted to tilt himself to the side, to slow down, to glide,  _ to do anything than just ski straight downhill at full speed _ , but that only made him lose his direction without any of his speed, and the next thing he knew, he was off the wide slope, and there were  _ trees? _

He tilted his skis again, evaded two trees, passed through a very snowy bush, and that hurt, but at least it  _ slowed him down.  _ The snow got in his eyes, and in a desperate attempt to get it out, he dropped one of his ski poles, lost control entirely, and collided with a tree.

To be honest, he welcomed the blackness that came after quite thankfully.

\---

“No. I’m not going to do this. I am dropping out. This-” Makoto’s murmur tore Nagito out of the train of thought completely, and he whipped his head up. The other’s back was already turned to him, and he was pushing past all the people around, eager to start. Nagito shot his hand forward to catch the other.

“What? Makoto wa-” 

“Komaeda?! What are YOU doing here?” his other hand was suddenly grabbed and stopped his movement. Owari’s grinning face welcomed him as he turned his head to look at the violator.

Another hand came up to slap at his back, and he almost toppled over. “I knew he had the spirit! Kazuichi owes me a twenty!” Nidai’s booming voice came up next.

“Ah, hello guys, what is bringing you to the worthless little me?”

Before, Nagito would describe his relationship with his own classmates as strictly professional. He was always focused on aiding them when needed in their great quest of becoming the Hopes of humanity. He was aware they didn’t think much of him, which was, of course, expected. He was just a nobody with a little bit of luck, after all. He considered himself blessed, on getting the front seat to observe their quest, and he never imagined he could ask for more. Even that was almost jeopardized by his luck cycle when he ended up blowing up the gym during his first year, and they almost expelled him. Haven’t it been for Miss Yukizome, who vouched for him and his innocence, he would have lost even that little tidbit of happiness. He was grateful, worked even harder, and to please Miss Yukizome, he allowed himself to befriend Nanami, and call her a friend in his mind. A little more peace came as his lymphoma suddenly got better, and his classmates perhaps noticed his subtle change, because more of them started to talk to him on their own. He thought it couldn’t get any better than this, that any more would be absolutely impossible. 

Until Makoto knocked him over at the picnic. And brought so much light and hope into his life. 

Nagito has never seen a person so bright as Makoto. It didn’t make any sense - if he was also a Lucky Student, he shouldn’t be so impactful. He shouldn’t, but he was. The other didn’t make any sense to Nagito until he confronted Makoto that night in the dorm study. The hope he showed Nagito that night almost blinded the latter, and partly selfishly (because who wouldn’t want to bask in the light of his wonderful person), and partly because Makoto wouldn’t let him go no matter what he said (and that was the thing Nagito couldn’t say about many people… Sometimes he wondered if Makoto even knew how much he meant for him), Nagito stayed.

Makoto proved himself over and over as the most hopeful person Nagito has ever met, and by now he knew - he had to keep that flame lit, even if it was the last thing he would do.

This Enoshima bitch - what she was doing was right the opposite of what Nagito was trying to accomplish. The second he saw her at the Halloween party, he knew she was extremely bad news for Makoto.

Worth mentioning, Nagito felt dangerously happy as he woke up this morning, smelling of vanilla and chamomile.

And on top of it all, there was that other guy… The other guy defying any rules and philosophies Nagito had built for himself.

“C’mon, our class is there! We are going to show the clueless first years and smug third years who’s the boss!” Owari was dragging his hand, with Nidai pushing him from behind, and he didn’t have a choice but to go in the complete opposite direction than Makoto disappeared to.

“Wait please, my friend went…”

“GUYS LOOK WHO I’VE FOUND!” Owari shouted and multiple people around her winced. The group consisting of Nevermind, Mioda, and Soda smiled in their direction.

“Komaeda, holy shit, don’t tell me you can ski?” Soda slapped him on the back (he was getting a lot of those in the class).

“I certainly have hope in my skiing skills,” Nagito replied with an honest smile, to which Mioda cheered.

“Ibuki is super duper happy that Komaeda is here too! It’s gonna be so much fun!”

“Indeed,” Nevermind added, a determined fire in her eyes. “Let’s show them how it’s done, and kick their butts!”

“Ah, Miss Nevermind, isn’t that way too harsh for a friend- ouch!” Nagito almost bit his tongue in two when Nidai slapped his back again.

“There is nothing wrong with a healthy rivalry, Komaeda, even in a friendly race! I approve Nevermind’s enthusiasm!”

“Yeah, get ready, Komaeda, Miss Sonia will kick their butts!” Soda supplied, as usual, and Nagito chuckled. They readied themselves, Nagito surrounded by Nidai and Owari. He arched his head up, hoping to see Makoto and his green beanie somewhere out of the crowd, but he couldn’t spot him anywhere.  _ I should slow down as soon as possible, and look for him. But maybe he already took the chair lift down. But what if I don’t find him down there? What should I do? _

“Get ready, set, go!”

After that, he didn’t have much space to think, really.

Most of the time Nagito felt like flying in his life, he didn’t really enjoy it. Falling down with the whole plane was quite a horrible example of that. But, when he was skiing…

He loved how precise it was. How every little movement and shift of his weight could influence his fate. How his fate was entirely in his own hands. 

The wind was stinging in his face, and yet he crouched a little more to go faster. He heard Owari hooting loudly somewhere behind him. The sound of snow giving out under his skies, the blur of a white world around him. The slope getting wider and wider, until he could make out the crowd of people not that far from him. The figure in front of him - they went downhill, just like him, but were smaller and therefore faster. It didn’t matter - Nagito was so delighted just to feel his ski edges tilt as he shifted his weight slightly from one leg to the other.

_ How that must feel, to experience this freedom every single day, every single minute… To live a life that is your own, and no supernatural force of luck being there to intervene… _

He would never know. But this, this is what he imagined it felt like.

He crossed the red line sprayed into the snow and sharply tilted himself to the side to slow down. The cheering of the crowd reached his ears, over the roar of the snow beneath his feet, and he stopped. A body collided with his, and he blew out a sharp breath, not even without a chance to catch one.

“Komaeda! That was amazing! You almost got me near the end, that was so cool!” He recognized the voice from yesterday, it was Makoto’s classmate Asahina. Nagito looked around, and beside the crowd of people behind the protective barrier, there wasn’t anyone around.

“Thank you! You were amazing yourself, though I have to ask, where is everyone?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

A red-colored smudge arrived, and Nagito and Asahina were covered in snow that came from under their skies.

“DAMN KOMAEDA WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!” Owari tackled him next. “YOU SPRUNG FORWARD LIKE A SCALDED CAT!”

Nagito’s ear popped as Owari shouted right into it, but he still didn’t quite understand the situation. 

“I’m afraid I don’t…”

Owari bent, grabbed him by the thighs, and hoisted him up, skis and all. “You are second, you lucky bastard!!”

_ Second? _

Only later, after Miss Yukizome gave him a silver chocolate medal, and his classmates surrounded him and started to throw him in the air with shouts like a group of excited kids, he realized that Makoto was nowhere to be found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fyi, I hate skiing.  
> I almost killed myself while skiing (I slipped out of the snowed slope while getting out of the ski-tow, collided with the ski lift pillar, and almost broke my back).  
> Makoto's part was my exact feelings during my first downhill. It never got better. I am never getting on skis again. This chapter, therefore, gave me a shitton of anxiety, but trust me, everyone, it is SO WORTH IT. For what is coming.  
> The cuddling part (I love that, do you love that?) is nothing against that o////o
> 
> (also, writing Nagito is hard. I realized now I should have started with his POV sooner. Well, nevermind. Hopefully, it is not that bad or OOC xD)  
> (also also, can you tell that I kin Akane? finally writing some good old class 77 fun, I loved that, I gotta do it more)


	13. Wildest Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto gets found by the last person he would have expected to help him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we all deserve this very much, for all that slow burn and for all that waiting.
> 
> I'm sorry that it took me so long. Hopefully, you guys enjoy it <3 It was actually harder to write than I expected.

Makoto wasn't passed out. Not exactly.

He could feel the chill of the snow beneath his body. He could feel the pain in his leg, as it was placed at an awkward angle due to his ski being still attached to his body. The other one probably fell off his boot somewhere near. In fact, his whole body ached, as he collided with a tree on his left side. He expected to find bruises all over his left shoulder, arm, and hip when he got back to his room.

If he could ever persuade himself to get up, that is.

The bliss of the darkness was way too comfortable right now. After all that stress, he thought he deserved some rest. Enoshima had put him in lots of ordeals in the past, but this one straight up exhausted him mentally. He was dressed warmly, it shouldn't matter that he was basically laying in the snowdrift. He could feel his breath getting shallower as if he was falling asleep, but this was something...different. Something deeper. His thoughts were becoming muddled, and he could feel his surroundings less and less with every breath as if he was a snail retracting to its shell for a round of hibernation.

From very afar, he suddenly could hear the now unfortunately familiar screech of the snow under the skis. He hated the sound already. Then, quiet.

Until…

“Naegi?” 

The voice was calling him, as if from under the water. Or was it him, who was underwater? It was hard to tell. Everything was slowed, muffled. He moved his eyes, eyelashes allowing a few drops of light through, and that hurt, so he whined under his breath. The voice called his name again. He really didn't want to respond. Everything hurt. He really should rest. Everything could wait…

_ Oh… What's that amazing smell? _

He was losing touch with his senses for a while now, but THIS… He could smell very clearly. As if he crawled under a Christmas tree. The strong and distinct smell of a pine tree. Was it coming from the trees around him? Where was the watery smell of the fresh snow underneath him? And if so, why could he also smell the sweet and savory orange? It was as if he was chewing one right now, the juice all over his tongue and lips. It was the tastiest and the most intoxicating smell he ever had the honor to encounter. What was it coming from? He should find out…

He slowly opened his eyes, and the painful white light reflected by all the snow around slowly but efficiently cleared out his mind. He still felt as if he was swimming in jelly, and he hurt all over, but the alluring darkness was gone.

That was good, that was great…

There was Togami's face right above his.

_ What now? _

Makoto  _ screeched  _ and flung himself up, not-very-gracefully avoiding headbutting Togami's nose with his forehead by plunging into another snowdrift and scrambling away as fast as the one ski still attached to his leg allowed him. His head was spinning, and his stomach felt very weird. When he turned around, Togami was giving him the confused-but-unimpressed look, and Makoto shuddered, forcing his lead tongue to move.

“Togami. Hey. How is it going?”  _ Holy shit Makoto that was so lame GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER. _

Makoto expected Togami to just get up and leave after that awkward thing he just said, but to his surprise, alpha didn't. He turned his head to the side,  _ softly chuckled,  _ and looked back at Makoto. His eyes were never really expressive, being always hidden behind glasses, but Makoto's mind was too in shock to properly read them anyway.

“So you aren't dead. What a disappointment.”

“Uh. Sorry for that?” Makoto did his best not to flinch, as those harsh words came after the delightful (for Makoto, at least) chuckle, and it stung a little bit, but he shoved it aside to just savor the moment he was having a  _ conversation  _ with Togami. A first and very possibly the last one.

“Don't apologize. I just thought it would create some interesting chaos if a dead body was found on this ridiculous trip. I'm actually glad you woke up,” Togami said, and took his gloves from where they were thrown in the snow.  _ Wait a second. What did he take them off for? _

“Oh, really? Thanks!” Makoto said with a way too wide and stupid smile.

Togami lifted his eyebrows at him. “Your reactions to my statements are messed up. Again, and don't make me repeat myself for the third time, don't thank me.”

“I should, though. I almost did fall asleep in the snow, and you found me and woke me up,” Makoto really tried to keep his tone light and casual. He probably wasn't very successful.

“I found you incidentally. I was passing by and the ski pole sticking out of the snow caught my attention. Also, you weren't falling asleep, you were dropping.”

Now those were some news. Makoto didn't even realize.

“...oh.”

“A big one of those. Please, refrain from doing so ever again, this isn't an experience I need to be repeated. And I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone, they could get the wrong idea. Think of it as the counter favor.”

“What do you me- oh,” Makoto realized. That smell… The amazing smell of pine and oranges and heaven itself was… Togami's alpha smell. From his wrists. He woke Makoto up from the drop by...

Makoto could feel his cheeks getting red. And his neck. And the tips of his ears. “So that smell…”

Togami rolled his eyes and stood up, grabbing his snow poles. “Goodbye, Naegi.”

“Wait!” Makoto's hand shot up, even though Togami was too far away. The latter stopped his movement and lifted eyebrows again. Makoto was surprised it actually worked.

“Uhm… Have you seen my other ski anywhere, by any chance?” that was lame, but somehow a functional sentence. Makoto was proud of himself.

Togami pointed with his ski pole instead of answering. Few meters left of Makoto, the ski was lodged halfway under another bush. Makoto huffed a breath and started to crawl, the movement still very difficult with one ski attached to him. Also, his body wasn't feeling right. He ached all over, and his arms felt like lead. He grunted and fell over, his face in the snow again. 

He heard Togami sigh, but without seeing his face, it was difficult to say if it was a frustrated, disappointed, or annoyed sigh.  _ Those are basically synonyms. _

“Please stop, you're embarrassing yourself and it's painful to watch. I will get it for you.”

Makoto pulled his head out of the snow. “You will?”

Togami gave him a murderous gaze. Something along the lines of “Shut up, or I will resume my leave”. Makoto closed his mouth and nodded. Noted and understood.

Togami retrieved his ski and his fallen ski poles with a neutral face. Makoto stood himself up with the help of poles and reattached his ski. This was good. He could move now. His head was still spinning, but at least he could move.

“Now, bear in mind that I am asking you as a professional courtesy to avoid trouble later - are you okay?”

Makoto was really getting whiplash from this conversation. He started to chuckle. He couldn't keep it in any longer. Togami blinked, visibly confused for a moment. “Did I say something funny?”

“No!” Makoto said way too quickly, still laughing.  _ Oh god please stop.  _ “I'm sorry. I'm good. I am really good. Yeah.”  _ His whole body was aching, but he wasn't about to tell that to Togami. _

“I have trouble believing you,” Togami remarked dryly. __

“Uh,” Makoto should also really stop exuding these sounds instead of words. “I… Am. Really. But I might stop by Tsumiki's room later. She's an Ultimate-”

“I don't know and I don't care. Okay. Let's go.”

“W-where?”

Togami lifted his eyebrows for what felt like the tenth time. Makoto was getting really uncomfortable with the amount of embarrassment he could feel piling up in him. But, at the same time… Why did talking to Togami feel so scary before? He was actually willing to talk to Makoto, which was already a dream come true, even though Makoto had no idea why. Maybe he was bored out of his mind on this trip and wanted to try something new. No, that didn't sound right. Makoto was very confused. And very awkward. And yes, Togami has said some things that were confusingly hurtful, but Makoto was willing to overlook that.

“Down the trail, of course. Do you have a better suggestion?”

“No, not really, please continue,” Makoto said. When did his tone get from stupid to  _ dreamy _ ? And he had to chew on his lip to stop himself from laughing. The ground should just open up and swallow him whole.

Togami ignored that. “Alright. Since your skiing ability is clearly questionable due to your physical condition, we will take the forest trail. It is longer than the main trail, but way less steep. Also, there are no noisy commoners.”

_ Of course there aren't.  _ Makoto was fine with that. Less steep. Alone with Togami. Epic. Togami started to move back towards the trail, and Makoto sluggishly followed, his bones still stiff.

\---

“How did you end up in such a compromising situation anyway?” Togami asked quietly after they descended slowly for a few minutes in silence. The forest around them was getting denser and denser, but to Makoto's surprise, the trail was cleaned up from the snow very well.

The question itself shocked Makoto a little bit. He would have never expected Togami to do a lot of things that he just did, but being actually interested in Makoto's situation was on the very top of that list. Now, how to put it in a way that wouldn't make him look like an absolute idiot?

“I competed. In the race. And lost control a little,” that was actually way off the impression he was going for. He would have started laughing if he didn't already feel embarrassed enough.  _ He was probably getting light-headed. _

“That's just ridiculously stupid,” Togami commented dryly. 

“I know, I just...lost a bet,” Makoto lied, looking away from Togami. How could he even tell him the truth? That would make him look even more pathetic than he already was. He should just excuse himself… Somehow get through the forest, down the big slope, lock himself in the bathroom he was sharing with  _ Ikusaba _ , and cry for the rest of the day. 

Togami hummed and pushed his glasses up his nose. “Let's see. I would know if Celestia put you up to this, and I can't imagine anyone from your friends giving you such a reckless bet. Also, either you are very embarrassed about this, or you are lying. Maybe both. From which I conclude Enoshima made you sign up.”

Makoto whipped his head up, eyes wide. That was actually very impressive. And terrifying. “Yes, that is true. That was very…”

“Impressive? For you, I can imagine you do think that.”

“Oh…”

“The only thing I am not sure about - why do you still listen to anything she has to say?”

_ Why do you care, Togami?  _ Makoto could only stare at him, unsure about what to answer.

“If I considered her worthy of my attention, I would have said I highly disapprove of her and of her every action. Reading fashion magazines isn't a talent. I can't believe the committee ever approved of that nonsense.”

Makoto was still too dumbfounded to say anything. Togami must've noticed because he stopped and looked back at Makoto, who just realized he had been staring at his back with wide eyes. The whole time.

“Have I grown a second head, Naegi?”

“No!” Makoto got red all over again. “I'm just surprised that you… Even think about her, or think about thinking about her, I'm not sure which one it was… And that you helped me. And that you are actually talking to me. Sorry. I should…”

“...stop talking? Definitely,” Togami smirked. 

Soon, they got out of the forest, and Togami abruptly stopped about a hundred meters away from the crowd of people hanging out around the bottom of the slope, the ski-lift, and the bistro.

“Well,” Togami said curtly and turned his head to face Makoto. “It has been a pleasure. Do seek the medical attention of your friend, as you implied you would.” Togami's voice was without any emotions again, and honestly, it was a sobering-up shock for Makoto. Was it just because of how many smirks he got from Togami during the conversation?

The burning question in his still slightly muddled mind remained - was Togami making fun of him, or was he...just mildly amused in a friendly manner?

Makoto really wanted to find out, even despite all the ways his light-headed self embarrassed him during that one conversation. 

_ He… wanted to spend more time with Togami. _

_ Maybe things weren't that hopeless after all. And if they were, Makoto could find out for himself. _

“Do you have… Other plans?” Makoto asked quietly. Togami moved his head, the white snow reflecting in his glasses and obscuring his eyes.

“What do you propose?”

Makoto had to think quickly. He looked around.

“Will you let me… Uhm, invite you to tea? To thank you. I really… Am thankful for your help,” Makoto said maybe too lightly because he laughed quietly afterward.  _ Nice. _

“Cool,” Togami said.  _ Too quickly? Wait, did he really say that? Was Makoto hallucinating now? _

Togami coughed, putting a hand to his mouth. Makoto was just about to ask him if he was alright, but the alpha started talking first. “Your company wasn't one of the worst. And since I don't have plans until later, I guess I could take you up on that invitation. However, I won't let a commoner pay for my tea. Know your place, Naegi.”

Makoto immediately thought that that was exceptionally mean, but when Togami bought two teas instead of one, therefore completely reversing Makoto's invitation, it was easier to swallow that.

They drank it in silence, just sitting near each other on a bench.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter has been very weird (and a bit short, oop), but remember that Makoto is hurt and a little bit delirious, therefore he becomes a very unreliable narrator. Byakuya might seem a little OOC, but he really isn't, at least according to my headcanon. I really enjoyed writing his lines :3
> 
> Leave feedback if you liked it, as always <3


	14. i wanna be your girlfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Nagito and Makoto have the time of their lives right now, but what is meanwhile happening back at Hope's Peak?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I cannot believe this chapter got the posting date of today. It's Toko's Birthday. What are the fucking odds?
> 
> Happy Birthday, girl, I love you and couldn't have a multi-dimensional AU Danganronpa fanfic without you and your stupid girlfriend. I guess you could say this chapter is a filler, but thanks to it, the more plot points in the overall web are created for the future, so I don't know. I shouldn't think so much about some stuff.
> 
> Ultra Despair Girls is my favorite game out of ALL games, and my favorite piece of DG media, so I gotta honor it properly. If you haven't played yet, there would be no spoilers for UDG, just mild references. I can't recommend it enough.

The huge doors of the dorm building of the Main Course of the magnificent Hope's Peak Academy opened up soundlessly, and a single girl stepped through. Not a very remarkable girl, unlike the normal occupants of the building. No, this was a completely normal girl, dressed in a simple jeans jacket, a skirt coming from another school's uniform, with a backpack on her back. In her hands, she gripped a paper, which permitted her entry into the building.

Komaru Naegi looked around the completely vacant lobby and sighed in anguish. She had no idea where to go now. There were a couple of papers on the bulletin board on the wall, but all of those were about the skiing trip and a couple of other school activities. No map, no room assignment, therefore nothing that could really help her. Should she just walk around and look at each nametag, just to be sure? And wasn't that creepy? She was pretty sure there were many different rooms in the building, not just student living quarters. And she didn't have that much time, the mean security alpha at the gate told her that in a very scary manner.

Her best chance was to ask someone, but there was no one around…

She walked to the elevator, got into it, and pressed the first number that she touched. She had to start somewhere, right?

She got out, on the second floor, apparently. That wasn't a very long ride. Komaru hummed to herself a popular song melody and started to wander down the hall.

Makoto didn't message her anymore after he sent her the photo with the view yesterday. Which was a bummer, because she sent him like ten messages to tell her his room number, or at least where to find it, but she didn't get any answer. And he knew she would come! He asked her to! 

If you asked Komaru, it was pretty weird that he did ask her to come on this particular day. But knowing him, he really probably just forgot he needed those books from home, until the very last second, and then he had to scramble to get her the permission… He rambled about how difficult the process was when he told her about how they got one for Hinata. Before, Komaru was a bit salty that she didn't get an invitation to the Halloween party while  _ Hinata _ did, but when Makoto told her what a disaster it was, how he fought with Komaeda and then had to carry poor passed out Fujisaki to the dorm, Komaru was quite glad she wasn't there. 

Music resonating through the corridor caught her attention. It was beautiful music, not exactly Komaru's type to listen to casually, but the traditional Japanese music always lifted her mood up. It made her think of festivals, and all the food… Yes, Makoto had teased her for that association numerous times. She could feel her belly already grumbling. She hasn't eaten anything since lunch.

She decided she could try and check the door where the music was coming from. There was probably someone inside, and they could probably help her. She smiled and knocked on the door gently.

When that went without an answer, she rang the bell that was placed near the door. The music played on, but a loud thud signaled that she probably surprised someone by ringing the bell. The loud stomps that came next indicated that the occupant of the room wasn't very happy with Komaru interrupting whatever they were doing.

“Oh boy,” Komaru sighed and smiled widely just a millisecond before the door flew open, and the girl slightly higher than Komaru was scowling down at her. She was wearing a gorgeous flowery kimono and had long damp blonde hair falling down to her waist. The scrunchie on her wrist and the towel in her other hand indicated that Komaru likely interrupted the omega (judging by the sweet flowery scent Komaru whiffed coming from the room) while she was tending to her hair.

“For the last time, Kuzuryuu, I will NOT lower the volume! Go work out your complexes somewhere else- Hey! You are not Kuzuryuu!” 

“Eeh,” Komaru had the feeling she doesn't have much time before the door is slammed in her face. “I'm not! I'm sorry! My name is Komaru Naegi and…”

“Whaaaa? You're family with that twink from the 78! Mahiru told me his name was Naegi. And that he's holding hands with Komaeda, wherever they go! Losers gotta flock together or something.”

“Uhm.”

“He is hilarious, seriously, he thinks he is so smart and righteous and I don't know what else, but the fact is that he looks like a kicked puppy 24/7. Or a lost puppy! Like you! Of course you two would be a family!”

“What?”

“You gotta tell me something embarrassing about him. I could use a good crack up, now that Mahiru isn't here.”

“I-” Komaru's brain was working at a very high speed to process all the information. The omega likely didn't like Makoto for some reason. That was fine, of course, everyone is entitled to their own option (even when they were wrong!). But the fact she knew him was good because she likely could point Komaru in the right direction.

“I would prefer not to if that's okay,” Komaru said quietly since the girl was quiet now and staring at her. 

“Chm. No fun. Well, have an awful life or whatever.”

“No wait please, do you know where he-” aaand there it was, a door slammed into her face. Great. Back to square one.

A few minutes later, while she wandered the same floor, she saw a movement in the corner. She broke into a jog, in hopes of finding someone else. She turned the corner… And there they were! A very short person, walking away from her with their head down. “Wait!” Komaru yelled and jogged again. She could hear the squeaky sound from the person, as they stopped and turned their head to look at Komaru with wide eyes. They had massive black circles underneath their eyes and generally didn't look like they were eating much.  _ Are all Ultimates straight-up mean or just look like this, worked down to the bone? That's just sad.  _ Komaru thought and also stopped to look at them with a bit of concern. She felt like in a cartoon about a mouse and a cat. She was the cat. Yes, she felt a little bit bad for stopping them, with how  _ frightened _ they seemed, but she really needed them.

“Hey! Could you please help me? I am a little bit lost!” she called out, not too loud, but enough for them to hear. The person flinched as if Komaru straight-up hit them with a fist.

“I… I am… Also lost here,” she almost couldn't hear the response, with how quiet their voice was. But… That didn't make any sense? They were wearing a Main Course uniform.

“Aren't you a student?” as soon as she had the thought, Komaru asked them. They flinched again.  _ Am I speaking that loudly? _

“Can't… Help you. Sorry,” they said, even more quietly than the last time, and Komaru stepped forward a little bit. That was a mistake, since the person took it like an  _ attack or something,  _ and they broke into a full sprint. 

“What? Wait please!” Komaru whined and sprung forward to chase them. She didn't have to run too far - the person slipped into the door with no name tag whatsoever and slammed them.  _ They would rather hide in a supply closet than talk to me? Rude. Maybe just introverted, but rude. _

Komaru huffed. This was not going well at all.

\---

She searched the third floor next. Absolutely no one was in sight. She didn't hear any sounds coming from behind the doors either. Ultimates were good at hiding. She looked into both dorm studies, into kitchenettes, into common bathrooms, into the trash disposal rooms, into every nook and cranny. The only thing she didn't do, was to press ears against the student room doors. She had  _ some  _ class.

“Now, this is crazy! Did absolutely everyone besides those weirdos on the second floor go skiing?” Komaru mused aloud as she walked back into the elevator, already feeling lonely and bored, “To think about it, Makoto did say they promised them some extra credit for attendance. Huh, so even Ultimates scramble for those during the exam season! That’s reassuring.”

Komaru should really get home. She texted mom about half an hour earlier, about how she still had no luck finding Makoto's room and didn't get a reply. No reply from Makoto either.  _ You better have so much fun right now that you lost your phone in the snow and don't even know where and you don't care. _

She got back to the first floor and took the corridor leading away from the lobby. Maybe there were more rooms, or some common area, like a dining room or library or something like that. She really  _ hoped  _ it would be. Preferably, with someone inside.

Komaru successfully found the dining room, but just like every other common room before, it was vacant. She groaned in anguish again, fetched an apple from the bowl on what seemed like the main counter, and sat down behind one of the clean tables to rest her legs. It didn't feel illegal, especially not after all that this cursed building has put her through. 

About halfway through the apple, something dark moved in the corner of her eye. Someone? She turned her head, her cheeks full of an apple as a hamster's. 

A girl was standing there. The Main Course uniform was a standard by now. Her hair was super long, almost to her knees, which made Komaru perk up in admiration. She couldn't let her hair grow too long - long hair only made her look shorter than she already was - but they looked amazing on this girl. Her face was very beautiful, but she was looking at Komaru with...hostility?  _ Oh no, not this again.  _ Komaru realized how she must've looked, lounging in their dining room, eating an apple, a complete stranger.

“Hewwo!” she quickly said and waved, not pronouncing properly due to her full mouth, and her cheeks immediately colored red in a mild embarrassment. 

“W-who are you? What are y-you doing here?!” the girl pointed a finger at her as if she were a bug on the wall. Komaru quickly swallowed the apple pieces in her mouth and then stood up. “It's fine, I'm not-”

“Don't- Don't move! You must be some p-pervert!”

“What?” that surprised Komaru so much she didn't notice a chair leg in her way. As she took a step towards the girl, she tripped and fell down, sprawling on the ground.

She sat up, head spinning a little. The girl was still standing where she was before, but this time she just looked at her in a flustered confusion. Was it because she definitely had the opportunity to see Komaru's underwear during that fall? Probably. But it was better than hostile hatred, right? That was progress.

“I'm Komaru Naegi,” Komaru said, her cheeks blazing red for an entirely new reason. 

“Of course you are,” the girl barked, the disturbing lack of surprise in the girl's face confusing Komaru. Was her brother some kind of Ultimate celebrity around here? Or did he just talk about her too much? Did people know him? What for? So many questions and the dumbass in question still couldn't be bothered to reply to any of her texts.

“So… You know him?” Komaru tried. She probably shouldn't force it. It was a  _ living human _ after all that time and a very likable one at that. Well, except for the hostility. But the girl had a right to be hostile. The tactic seemed to work for now.

“Yes! Of course, h-he is my classmate. N-not that he ever noticed me, or talked to me or anything!” the girl said in a strangely frustrated tone, and that confused Komaru even more.  _ Why wouldn't my friendly puppy of a brother want to talk to you?  _ But at the same time, the statement excited her. Makoto's classmate! She was sure to know where his room was! After all that misfortune, Komaru finally got lucky!

“I am searching for his room, do you know where-”

“Ha! I knew it! Sneaking a-around while he isn't here, I knew you must be s-some kind of a pervert!”

“What?” Komaru asked, her face red all over again. “That's not true! He asked me to bring him books to his room! I can show you the text message if you want!”

“Pff,” the girl folded her arms on her chest. “Fine. I will take you to his room. B-but I don't have a key, and I definitely don't do stuff like picking locks! I am no weirdo!”

Komaru giggled. This girl was funny. “That's fine. He gave me the spare key earlier this month when we went out for tea. I just couldn't find the right door. This building is so huge-”

“Okay fine, let's just go, y-you don't have to tell me your whole life story from the floor!”

Komaru then noticed she was still sitting on the floor. Oh, that was embarrassing. She quickly got up, smiling (like an idiot) and dusting her skirt.

They walked through the narrow corridor, then emerged on the similar hallway as were those above them, with student rooms. “Oh, I didn't think there would be rooms on the first floor!” Komaru mused loudly, trotting behind the girl like a puppy, probably still smiling like an idiot.  _ She was happy she was finally progressing somewhere, why would that be a bad thing? _

“You must be a genius,” the girl replied distantly, and Komaru giggled. 

“Probably! Hey, what's your name?”

“What do you need my n-name for?”

“So I can learn and remember it, of course! And tell Makoto who helped me!”

“Why are you always mentioning him? D-do you have a brother complex or something?”

“You were the one to bring him up first! Said he didn't talk to you!” Komaru pouted. The girl stopped and turned to look at Komaru. Her eyes were beautiful, up close, less hidden behind glasses. 

“Toko Fukawa,” she said and turned. Did her cheeks turn red before she could turn completely? Maybe Komaru just imagined. And maybe not. She grinned.

“Nice to meet you, Fukawa!”

At last, Komaru was finally standing in front of Makoto's door. The key fit and she successfully unlocked the door.

“Great. D-don't steal anything. Unless that's what you t-two do. Either way, I don't care,” Fukawa said curtly and turned to leave, but Komaru caught her sleeve before she could. The other was probably in a hurry, and quite frankly, Komaru was too (she definitely didn't plan to spend so much time there as she did), so there was only one thing she could think of.

“Will you give me your number?” 

“W-what? What for?!” Fukawa shouldn't seem THIS shocked.

“So I can text you, of course! It's late and I have to hurry back, but you helped me, and if you want, I would love to hang out soon again!” Komaru told her with a smile. 

Now, Fukawa definitely blushed. “Don't be ridiculous, w-why would you want to hang out with me? Y-you don’t know anything about me!”

“Because you were nice to me, Fukawa! Why is that strange? Also, that’s what hanging out is for, so we can get to know each other better, right?”

“I literally called you a pervert multiple times,” Fukawa was pouting now, and Komaru huffed.

“I know, but we live in a world like that! You were right to get suspicious of me. I can't get mad just because you look out for yourself.”

“Huh. Okay.” Komaru was glad to see Fukawa's face relax a little, as she took a phone out of her pocket. Despite the way someone would say they didn't have the smoothest nor luckiest first encounter, Komaru was glad that she made a new friend. At Makoto's fancy school, at that. She was sure there were some approachable people here, not only… Well, that blonde girl was just plain mean, at least from the first impression, and that other person was probably shy from the similar reason Fukawa had to lash out at her - she was a stranger. Komaru even felt bad for trying to chase them down like that.

They exchanged numbers, and Komaru finally hoisted the heavy backpack with books down from her back, and set it on Makoto's bed. She sighed in relief. “So, are you free tomorrow?”

“T-Tomorrow?!” Fukawa's grey eyes were as wide as saucers, and her glasses slipped half-way down her nose.

“Well, the skiing trip lasts for two more days or so…” Komaru mused while taking out books one by one from the backpack and setting them into a neat pile. “If the dorms are to be vacant until then - if you want, I can keep you company!”

“Okay, fine! B-but if you are making fun of me and leading me on…”

“I would never! We can go grab tea. Or go to a manga cafe. I haven't been in a long time, I need to catch up on some… Fukawa are you alright?”

Fukawa's face had a dangerous violet color. “Manga… cafe… S-sounds good.”

Komaru giggled. “Great! Can't wait!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI, I love writing Hiyoko. I am definitely doing it all wrong but I love it.  
> Also, with so many characters from V3 making an appearance (Yukizome, Sakakura...), forgetting about Ryota felt like a crime at this point.


	15. White Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagito's luck cycle turns around again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My appendix is probably close to bursting, so I had some trouble finishing this chapter. It's not as good as I hoped it would be, but I am satisfied. Hopefully, you guys would be too! We have some class 77 fluff, Nagito in (three?) overthinking spirals, and even a reveal of the reason behind Nagito's sudden phone addiction :3
> 
> Also, we are over 2k hits, which is just insane, thank you so much  
> Also ALSO, my word count on AO3 reached 100k words with this chapter, and that is huge. I love writing, and it has been saving my insane traumatized ass for years now. It's nice to see people enjoy it, at that.

The festivities celebrating Nagito's and Owari's medals took about half an hour - class 77 wasn't one to tire out easily. And Nagito might have gotten dizzy and a bit nauseous from the way they were throwing him in the air, but he loathed to ruin their fun, so he didn't say anything. The tea for everyone brought by Hanamura helped to calm his stomach.

Now that everyone dispersed to attend to their own business (Nagito had to excuse himself from various offers to hang out, which was the first for him), he had some peace to collect his thoughts and find Makoto. Who still was nowhere in sight, no matter where Nagito went. And didn't answer any of his calls or texts.

He wasn't anywhere in the hotel or the area around. That was the first theory Nagito had - that Makoto had just given up, and returned to the hotel. The cause of that, he still wasn't sure about. He knew Makoto was terrified of how high the hill was, and he felt guilty for failing to console him, but he had no idea why Makoto decided to quit all of a sudden. If they didn't get separated, it would be all okay - Nagito wouldn't have gotten a medal, sure, but Makoto would have been with him, sliding the hill slowly and carefully, and there wouldn't be this tight anxiety in Nagito's chest. His first theory failed - there was nobody in Nagito's and Tanaka's room, and nobody answered when he knocked on Makoto's door. He asked the desk guy in wellness, the receptionist in the lobby, and the group of students from class 76 who seemed to be glued to the common room couches (playing board games) with no result. Nobody has seen him since morning.

The second theory - the area under the slope. But as much as he tried, he couldn't spot Makoto anywhere around the mulling crowd of people. He sat down near the bistro, sighing and taking out his phone.

_ 1:09pm  _ **Komaeda:** I can't find him anywhere. I'm worried.

_ 1:09pm  _ **Hinata:** Have you tried calling his phone periodically?

Nagito rolled his eyes. Of course, he could rely on a Reserve Course student to offer useful advice.

_ 1:10pm  _ **Komaeda:** That doesn't even deserve an answer.

_ 1:10pm  _ **Hinata:** Okay, yes, sorry. Maybe he lost his phone, then? 

_ 1:10pm  _ **Komaeda:** I'm not searching for his phone, but him. That won't help me.

_ 1:11pm  _ **Hinata:** Maybe if you had one of those apps tracking numbers, then you would find his phone, and then him!

_ 1:11pm  _ **Komaeda:** Assuming that he has lost his phone, which we don't know for sure.

_ 1:11pm  _ **Komaeda:** Also, we don't have that app.

_1:12pm_ **Hinata:** I think the theory isn't too far-fetched.

_1:12pm_ **Hinata:** Also, I don't know, use your luck. You just won a race, maybe it still lasts. Finding a phone isn't that big of a deal than finding someone lost.

Nagito chuckled.  _ What do you know, Hajime Hinata. _

_ 1:12pm  _ **Komaeda:** It doesn't work like that.

_ 1:12pm  _ **Komaeda:** It's worth a shot tho.

_ 1:13pm  _ **Hinata:** :)))

_ 1:13pm  _ **Komaeda:** Don't get too cocky, Reserve.

“Excuse me?” a foreign voice startled him just as he was about to stand up. He lifted his head and saw an unfamiliar girl. She was dressed in a black winter jacket with subtle army camouflage print - no, all her clothes were black. He couldn’t guess her dynamics, which was a little bit unsettling. She gave off a strange FBI agent vibe to Nagito. Her narrow grey eyes held no emotion whatsoever. Nagito would swear that he's never seen her before. That was suspicious.

“Are you searching for Makoto Naegi?” she said neutrally, and Nagito perked up, dismissing his defensive intrusive thoughts. This was interesting.

“Yes! How do you know that, though?”

“I've heard you asking around.”

Well, he couldn't argue with that.

“Do you know where he is?”

“Yes. I can show you where I've seen him last. After the race began.”

That matched Nagito's timeline perfectly.“Really? That is actually helpful! I lost him right before that.”

“Follow me, then.”

The girl led Nagito to the ski-lift, where they headed up, to the slope where the race began. That was the last option Nagito entertained. He didn't expect Makoto to stay up there. Or perhaps he waited for all people to leave, and then he went down alone? On skis, instead of the ski-lift? That wasn't a very hopeful option. Perhaps he was still somewhere in the middle, caught up in the snow. Nagito really hoped Makoto wasn't hurt. It was likely, but that would've been extremely unlucky, right?

_ This is my fault. I should've talked him out of that race, not join him in it. I should have told Owari to back off and rushed after him. I should have left Makoto alone after the picnic. Oh no! This is all my fault. I told him that my bad luck would- _

“What is your relationship with Naegi?” the girl suddenly spoke, and it tore Nagito from the downward spiral. He blinked a few times, to get back into reality, and at first, it didn't even dawn on him how strange the question was.

“We are… Friends. Of course. Why?”

“No reason,” the girl had her head turned away, looking at trees around, so Nagito couldn't tell what her expression was. “You seem pretty close, searching for him like that.”

“I'm told that's what friends do, care about the other. I don't-”

“You're an upperclassman?”

“Yes, what does that have to do with anything?”

She was silent for a while, avoiding looking at Nagito. That was strange. Nagito had a thousand questions, such as who this girl was or why she was so interested in him and Makoto, but he didn't want to make her mad by questioning her. He needed her to give him the information.

“Are we going to the race start site?”

“We are. He isn't exactly there, but close to that.”

The excitement of finally having a lead was slowly being consumed by fear for Makoto. But he couldn't be injured, right? If he was, why would this girl go to get him first, not to help Makoto? And why would she not share that information as the first thing when she approached him? Could Makoto just be sulking somewhere? That didn't sound like Makoto. Something was very wrong here, but Nagito couldn't pinpoint it.  _ Who was this girl? Why can't I just ask her? Because she clearly doesn't want you to know? But that is suspicious! It is, but I need her information! Makoto could be in danger! Why would she need me for that, if he was in serious danger? Ugh! _

He was cycled in this thought process, and there was nothing worse than that. Nagito took a deep breath, sniffing at the last dying whiffs of chamomile on his scarf.  _ Yes. Calm down. It will be alright. Makoto is close, and surely, nothing bad has happened to him. _

The pair got off the ski-lift right where the race started. There was no one in sight, except for a few people sliding around, and Nevermind, who was apparently teaching Tanaka how to properly slouch on skis. That was adorable. They never explicitly announced to the class they were dating - and no one asked, respecting their privacy, but it couldn't have been more obvious. It was hard to say if their dynamics matched - with both of them notoriously hiding their scents, but that was perhaps what they bonded over at first. And they simply clicked. They even had couple costumes for the Halloween party and won both the costume and dancing contest there. When they spotted Nagito, they waved at him, smiling. 

Nagito returned the wave and followed the girl, who was heading to the side of the slope. There was an entrance to the side forest slope, hidden by overgrown trees.

“Makoto went in there?” he asked the girl, who stopped right in front of the first tree.

“Yes. This slope isn't that steep as the main one,” she explained and pushed herself with the poles into the woods.

_ Yeah, but how did Makoto even know about it? Was someone with him, who told him? Was it this girl? I haven't seen her at the start of the race. _

The girl was continuing down the forest slope slowly, Nagito behind her. It really seemed less steep, so Nagito could see why Makoto would choose this path. Besides, there were fresh ski prints in the snow, indicating that it was used not that long ago, by more people. 

“So he took this path back to the hotel? But why wasn't he down there a good half hour later after the race?” Nagito asked, a bit riled up by the silence. The girl only shook her shoulders.

“I don't know.”

“What?” Nagito was at the end of his wits. This wasn't making sense. If Makoto discovered a trail like this, he should be unharmed and safe, but why then…  _ Was he actively hiding from Nagito? Did Nagito make him mad? Oh no, that was terrible. Of course, he was happy that Makoto was healthy, and if he was mad at Nagito, he probably deserved it, but what for? What did Nagito do wrong? Was it about the race? Or did he finally realize what a vile, unworthy piece of crap Nagito was? Last one, probably. That hurt. That hurt very much… _

“There,” he almost bumped into the girl, as she stopped suddenly and pointed with her pole. The snow on the side of the trail was disturbed, and there was a whole bush turned over. Dread filled Nagito, a dread unrelated to his last thinking spiral.

“That looks like a fall, what happened here?” he asked, alarmed, and looked over the site with wide eyes. There was something black and shiny in the snow, in the middle of the disturbance. Nagito picked it up. It was in a plastic baggie, so the snow didn't get on it, but… “That's Makoto's phone!” he exclaimed when he pressed the button in the middle and the screen lit up, revealing a photo of Nagito, Makoto, Maizono and Fujisaki. And countless notifications from Nagito (and surprisingly, Hinata - so he tried to help too), calls and texts alike. 

“So he did lose his phone… But where is he? If he fell, is he hurt? How do you know about this?” The dam withholding the question broke a little, as Nagito put the phone into his pocket and headed back to the trail. The girl stayed where she was, just away from it, looking down into the snow.

“I don't know,” she repeated, and Nagito frowned. Now, he could see that red flag very clearly. And he felt very stupid for not seeing it sooner.

“Who are you?” he asked slowly, and she looked at him, signed, and shook her shoulders again.

That was an infuriating answer, but before Nagito could express any of that, he could feel something big and fast colliding with him from behind. He lost balance and fell down to the other side of the trail. 

His leg painfully collided with a tree trunk. His knee exploded with pain, and the choked whine escaped his mouth as he fell into the snow on his stomach (and got a mouthful of snow right after). He could hear laughter, and then the hissing of two pairs of skis hurrying away. That was...strange. His leg really, really hurt. He pushed himself up with his hands, shaking the chunks of snow from his hair and froggy cap. He actually fell into a hole in the ground next to the tree, hidden in between two snowdrifts. He slowly moved to sit up, whining when his knee protested with searing pain at the slightest movement. Why-

Oh. His leg definitely shouldn't be in that angle.

So, here it was. All the red flags pointed to this very moment, where his good luck finally ran out and he was back at the black side of the cycle. With this injury coming right away, it should be short. But intense. Nagito groaned and tried to sit up again, only to blackout for a second from pain and fall back down into the snow, this time onto his back.

This was unbelievable. The girl… And someone who was with her. Did they leave? Nagito was used to others treating him like shit, it was one thing to serve for the greater good and to serve as a punching bag for someone vile and despicable. That was a big no-go for Nagito. There was no hope in this. No Ultimate in his right mind would do that… Oh. That was familiar.

While Nagito fumed about the suspect who pushed him into the hole, the large dead branch on the tree he collided with, which was right above him, couldn't take the weight of the snow anymore. It snapped free with a horrible sound and landed in the snow with another horrible sound. It shook the ground Nagito was laying on and spooked him very much.

Considering how close to him it landed… His right arm was in that place just a few seconds ago. He could have lost an arm.

This bad luck streak was already a nightmare.

Nagito really didn't want to stay under the tree that had so many other branches, that could fall down and kill him any second, but every movement caused his vision to blackout. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't text Makoto to come and help him, because he HAD Makoto's phone. Damn it. He took out his own phone with shaking fingers and looked into the contacts list. If he had Nidai's or Owari's numbers, they would perhaps come and help him…

_ On the other hand, wasn't it selfish of him, to bother Ultimates like that? They surely had better things to do than to save his sorry ass. He could just wait. _

Maybe Makoto would come in search of his phone, and find him. If he wasn't injured too. That would be… absolutely awful.  _ No, don't go there. _ Nagito couldn't go down that spiral again.

His phone chimed, revealing a text message.

_ 1:47pm  _ **Hinata:** So, how is it going?

_ 1:47pm  _ **Komaeda:** I probably broke my leg. 

_ 1:47pm  _ **Komaeda:** But I'm not a medical professional, would hate to self-diagnose

_1:48pm_ **Hinata:** WHAT???

The sound of skis in the snow made him look up before he could answer.

“I have to say, this skiing isn't as much fun as the Mechanic from hell advertised. Why don't you just make a contract with a hellish beast and ride it in all the snow? That would be much more effective,” Tanaka's bold voice reached Nagito's ears, and he perked up, more chunks of snow falling from his hair.

“That's because you are only in a learning stage! Trust the process and trust me, it will get fun!” Nevermind assured him, and a deep chuckle followed.

“I'm sure you are right, Dark Queen. If I can do anything on this mortal plane, it is to put my trust in your words.”

“That's exact- Oh my, Komaeda, is that you?!”

Oh, they noticed him. Great.

“Hello again,” he said quietly and waved, wincing as lifting his hand put weight on his injured leg. “I'm terribly sorry for this state you must see me in. Please don't let my pathetic existence interrupt you…”

“What are you talking about?” Nevermind said in an outraged tone and the pair slid down from the trail to get close to him. 

“It seems the Luck demon has severely injured one of his limbs,” Tanaka commented, lifting Nagito and making him sit up gently. Nagito gasped at the pain, but Tanaka's hands kept him in place even when he had to breathe hard and his head started spinning. 

“It does seem like it. We need to get him to Tsumiki. She should be at the hotel.”

“Is it possible to carry him all that way without furthering his injuries? Shouldn't we call on mortals to help?”

“That's true… I should have Owari's number. Excuse me for a second.”

Nagito tuned her out after that, her phone call with Owari not very needed for him to hear. Tanaka was holding him upright, and Nagito allowed himself to relax in his hands. He could feel Tanaka's sleeve shuffling a bit on his back, and soon a hamster crawled out of it and started to play in Nagito's hair.

“I see I should have made a protection charm for you, instead of the other luck demon,” Tanaka mumbled.

“I'm afraid he's lost, so he shouldn't have rejected the offer too. All I could find was his phone, and then this happened.”

“I can see with my Third Eye that the misfortune that has met your friend is connected with yours. In place and the culprit. The common enemy is someone very strong and dangerous.”

“That seems likely. There is no hope in what they are doing, only despair. I cannot ignore that, it would defile everything I stand for.”

“Your goals are admirable and honorable, Komaeda, but you can never reach them alone. Do you know what I mean?”

Nagito silently nodded. Tanaka has an exceptional gift even besides his animal talent, there was no doubt about it. “Thank you, Tanaka, Nevermind.”

\---

_ 3:15pm  _ **Komaeda:** I'm sincerely sorry for scaring you. You shouldn't be so worried about trash like me, Hinata. Not to leave 37 missed calls on my phone. I've been found and treated, and my knee was luckily only dislocated. But I can't continue my search for Makoto… Don't try to call him, I have his phone. I found it, as you predicted.

_ 3:15pm  _ **Hinata:** YOU'RE ALIVE OMG Okay that's bad, I'm sure Makoto will show up soon. You get some rest :(

_3:16pm_ **Komaeda:** thanks :) :')

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't keep it in any longer, Sonia is alpha, Gundham is omega, and they are both hiding their dynamics because they refuse to accept the status that comes with them. There I've said it. I think it's beautiful.
> 
> Next up: The result of the awkward tea date, mad Sayaka, and a very significant conversation, that I am proud of myself for having happen as far as the 15th chapter. You know, my first slow-burn fanfic. Ahaha


End file.
